Synthesis and characterization of crystalline sol-gel derived ITO nano-powders by supercritical C02 drying

Crystalline ITO nano-powders were synthesized directly from the precursor solutions by replacing the drying and calcination processes in the traditional sol-gel method with supercritical carbon dioxide drying. Characterizations of the supercritically dried powders have confirmed that highly crystalline sol-gel derived nano-sized ITO powders are successfully synthesized by supercritical carbon dioxide drying of the precursor solutions. It is also shown that the extent of drying of the precursors plays a decisive role in whether crystalline ITO powders can be produced. In addition, it is demonstrated that the properties of the supercritically dried sol-gel derived crystalline ITO nano-powders are superior to those of ITO powders prepared by traditional sol-gel process.