Fabrication of indium tin oxide nanocoatings on ZnS phosphor powders via a sol-gel route

In order to improve the ageing performance of ZnS-type phosphors applied in field emission displays, surface coating is an effective method. The indium tin oxide (ITO) coating, a transparent conductive oxide coating, is expected to inhibit surface oxidation and to increase the surface conductivity of ZnS phosphors. The continuous ITO nanocoatings on the ZnS phosphor powders are obtained by the sol-gel method, and the precursor solution is prepared by mixing indium nitrate dissolved in acetylacetone and tin (IV) chloride dissolved in ethanol. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis reveals that Zn-O bonds might be formed at the interface between ZnS powders and ITO coatings.