Electrical properties of nano-sized indium tin oxide (ITO) doped with CuO, Cr₂O₃ and ZrO₂

Undoped and doped indium tin oxide (ITO) with different concentrations (2, 4, and 6 mol%) of different dopants (CuO, Cr₂O₃, and ZrO₂) were prepared in the nano-size scale (19–33 nm) using Pechini method. The thermal decomposition of the precursors was studied. The electrical properties of all the prepared samples were investigated. All the investigated systems have higher conductivity than that of ITO. For ITO doped with CuO, as the concentration of CuO increases, the conductivity increases. The highest conductivity was obtained for ITO doped with 6 mol% of CuO. For ITO doped with Cr₂O₃, as the concentration of Cr₂O₃ increases the conductivity increases and above 4 mol% Cr₂O₃ the conductivity decreases. For ITO doped with ZrO₂, as the ZrO₂ concentration increases, the conductivity increases up to 4 mol% of ZrO₂ and then decreases. The band gap was detected for all the investigated systems.