Preparation and characterization of monodispersed indium–tin oxide nanoparticles

In this study, ITO nanoparticles were synthesized by both coprecipitation method in an aqueous solution and thermal degradation in an alcohol solution. The coprecipitate prepared at room temperature showed the crystal structure of indium oxide, when it was annealed at the temperature above 300 °C. This indium–tin oxide nanoparticles have a cubic crystal structure. In thermal degradation, the nanoparticles have two-phase crystal structure of indium oxide hydroxide (InOOH) and indium hydroxide (In(OH)3). Annealing at the temperature above 400 °C, it shows the rhombohedral crystal structure of indium oxide (In2O3). The phase transition of ITO nanoparticles was detected with diffractional scanning calorimeter (DSC). X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS) were used to characterize the structure and to determine their morphology and composition of ITO nanoparticles, respectively.