Synthesis and Characterization of Sol–Gel Foam Based Porous Mn(II) Doped Indium Tin Oxide (ITO)

Mn(II) doped indium tin oxide (ITO) was prepared from polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) based composite foam specimen by sol–gel processing. This composite foam initially prepared at ∼100 °C was further baked at three different temperatures (400 °C, 600 °C and 800 °C) to generate the porous oxide material by burning away the organics. The elemental analyses of the specimens were performed and their empirical formulae were evaluated. The bonding nature in the moieties was determined by the study of Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). The electrical parameters such as resistivity and conductivity were evaluated by two-probe methods. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) highlight the porous morphological feature as well as the cluster sizes of the specimens. Weak ferromagnetic property at 5 K was observed for the high temperature baked products.