An hybrid Sol-Gel and CVD approach to oxide-based nanosystems: the case of CeO2-ZrO2 thin films

In the present work a combined sol-gel/PA-CVD (Plasma Assisted Chemical Vapour Deposition) approach was employed for the preparation of mixed CeO2-ZrO2 nanostructured films by the PA-CVD deposition of ceria on zirconia xerogels. The synthesis was accomplished from Zr(OBut)4 and Ce(dpm)4 for the sol-gel and PA-CVD processes respectively. The obtained layers were subsequently annealed in air in order to investigate the Thermal treatment influence on their chemico-physical properties. The system composition and microstructural evolution were studied by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Glancing-Incidence X-ray Diffraction (GIXRD), while their surface morphology was analyzed by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM).