Tin dioxide transparent films sprayed from different precursors for supercapacitor current collectors

Abstract

Tin(II) chloride dihydrate and tin(II) 2-ethylhexanoate were evaluated as precursors for tin dioxide thin films. Films grown by spray-pyrolysis at 450 °C showed significant microstructural differences. Both precursors lead to crystalline films, but tin(II) chloride led to films highly oriented in the [200] crystallographic direction, whereas tin(II) ethylhexanoate led to films with no relevant crystalline orientation. In virtue of better electrical properties, films from tin(II) chloride were doped with Sb(III) chloride. The resulting transparent conducting Sb–SnO2 films were applied as electrodes for PEDOT-based supercapacitors with promising results and high capacitance retention after 1200 voltammetric cycles.