Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics最新文献

{"title":"Parameter-controlled micro-to-nanoscale reduction of silver particles for enhanced humidity sensing in ex situ-doped nAg/PVA composites","authors":"Poonam D. Mahapure,&nbsp;S. A. Gangal,&nbsp;R. C. Aiyer,&nbsp;S. W. Gosavi","doi":"10.1007/s10854-026-18633-7","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10854-026-18633-7","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Silver nanoparticle/poly(vinyl alcohol) (nAg/PVA) nanocomposites were synthesized by an ex situ approach for room-temperature resistive humidity sensing. The effects of AgNO₃ concentration (0.0009–0.001 M), reducing-agent concentration (0.01–0.03 M), stirring temperature (50–110 °C), stirring time, PVA concentration (0.001–0.1 wt%), and nAg mixing ratio (1:5–5:5 by volume) during synthesis on the Ag nanoparticle size and, consequently, on the humidity-sensing characteristics were systematically investigated. UV–Vis, FTIR, SEM, TEM, and EDS analyses confirmed the formation of well-dispersed Ag nanoparticles and showed that increasing PVA concentration reduced nanoparticle size. Optimization reduced the Ag nanoparticle size from 100–150 nm during the initial synthesis stage to 10–25 nm in the optimized sample (A3). The fabricated nAg/PVA sensors exhibited size-dependent resistive humidity-sensing characteristics. Among the investigated compositions, A3-5:5 showed the best performance, with an effective sensing range of 5–80%RH, sensitivities of 0.056 and 0.041%RH⁻¹ in two sensing regions, and linearity of R² = 0.77. The sensor exhibited a hysteresis of 5%RH and response and recovery times of 7 ± 1 and 9 ± 1 s, respectively. Repeatability, reproducibility, and aging studies confirmed the stability of the optimized sensor. The enhanced response from A1 to A3 is attributed to the increased surface area and active sites of smaller Ag nanoparticles and their interaction with hydrophilic PVA, facilitating water adsorption and charge transport. These results demonstrate the strong influence of Ag nanoparticle size on the resistive humidity-sensing performance of Ag/PVA nanocomposites.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":646,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics","volume":"37 29","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149189464","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Exploring neodymium-doped LaCoO3 perovskite nanoparticles for structural tuning and methyl orange photocatalytic performance","authors":"Reshma B. Bhosale,&nbsp;Radhakrishnan M. Tigote,&nbsp;Subiya K. Kazi,&nbsp;Rahul B. Bhakte,&nbsp;Pradip B. Jagtap,&nbsp;Nitin P. Patil,&nbsp;Rameshwar K. Dongare,&nbsp;Sanjeev M. Reddy","doi":"10.1007/s10854-026-18602-0","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10854-026-18602-0","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The La_1-xNdxCoO₃ (<i>x</i> = 0.25, 0.50, and 0.75) nanoparticles were successfully synthesized as a residual mass of 55 wt% and thermally stable at 400 °C using the sol–gel auto-combustion method. The X-ray data confirm a rhombohedral perovskite crystal structure with particle sizes ranging from 10 to 30 nm. The field emission scanning microscopy displays a cubical shape with an average size of 18.80–31.47 nm, as evidenced by the Nd, La, Co, and O elements detected by energy-dispersive analysis, and X-photoelectron spectroscopy revealed the expected chemical state. High-resolution transmission confirmed the highly crystalline nature of nanoparticles. UV–Visible reveals the optical band gap range of 3.90–3.99 eV. The magnetic behavior demonstrates an increase in magnetic moment with Nd³⁺-induced spin-state interactions LS–HS in Co³⁺, enhancing Co³⁺–O–Co³⁺ ferromagnetic exchange. The FTIR spectrum exhibits characteristic bands in the 400–650 cm⁻¹ region, attributed to Co–O stretching ~580–620 cm⁻¹ and O–Co–O bending ~430–480 cm⁻¹ vibrations of CoO₆ octahedra, along with a broad band ~500–540 cm⁻¹ corresponding to La–O/Nd–O modes, confirming successful Nd³⁺ substitution at the La-site. The obtained band gap energies enabled enhanced photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange under sunlight, achieving efficient removal within 210 min. Photodegradation kinetics followed a pseudo-first-order model, confirming the high activity of the synthesized nanoparticles. Mechanistic studies identified superoxide (–O₂⁻) and hydroxyl (–OH) radicals as the primary reactive species. As a result, Nd³⁺ substitution evidently improved the photocatalytic performance of La_1-xNd_x CoO₃ toward methyl orange degradation.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":646,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics","volume":"37 29","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149189265","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A novel approach on synthesis of multi-type heterojunction WO3/g-C3N4/TiNTAs for simultaneous tartrazine photodegradation and hydrogen production","authors":"Saddam Husein,&nbsp;Abdul Hamid Budiman,&nbsp;Reno Pratiwi,&nbsp;Eniya Listiani Dewi,&nbsp; Slamet","doi":"10.1007/s10854-026-18531-y","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10854-026-18531-y","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This study investigates the fabrication of multi-type heterojunction nanocomposites using chemical vapor deposition (CVD), in situ anodization (IA), and immersion (IM) methods. The photocatalytic performance of the nanocomposites prepared by each synthesis method was evaluated through tartrazine degradation and hydrogen evolution experiments. The characteristics of the nanocomposites were evaluated using UV–Vis DRS, FESEM-EDX, HRTEM-SAED, XRD, and XPS methods. The W-CN-TiNTAs ternary composite’s narrower bandgap improves photocatalytic activities like TZ degradation and H₂ production by allowing for low-energy light absorption and increased photocurrent generation. Reduced photoluminescence suggests less electron–hole recombination, which improves redox reaction performance. W-CN-TiNTAs synthesized using CVD and IM techniques resulted in maximum H₂ production and TZ degradation, with a higher precursor loading composition than the IA strategy. The varied heterojunction W-CN-TiNTAs, synthesized by CVD and IM, reveals a photocatalytic mechanism capable of integrating both type II and Z-scheme heterojunctions. In contrast, the W-CN-TiNTAs synthesized using the IA method is entirely dependent on a dual Z-scheme heterojunction, we agree that scavenger tests alone are insufficient. Therefore, our interpretation was based on the combined evidence from scavenger tests, PL spectroscopy, transient photocurrent measurements, band structure analysis, and photodeposition studies. The incorporation of type II and Z-scheme processes in these heterojunctions improves charge transfer and separation, significantly increasing the photocatalytic activity of W-CN-TiNTAs nanocomposites. This optimization is critical for increasing H₂ production and facilitating TZ degradation.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":646,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics","volume":"37 29","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149189212","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Preparation and microwave absorption properties of graphene/pure ferrite composite absorbers","authors":"B. D. Cui,&nbsp;X. G. Wang","doi":"10.1007/s10854-026-18665-z","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10854-026-18665-z","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>To develop lightweight, broadband, and high-efficiency graphene-based microwave absorbing materials, graphene/pure ferrite composite absorbers with different mass ratios (N1–W3) were prepared via a hydrothermal method. The effects of the graphene-to-ferrite mass ratio on the electromagnetic parameters and absorption performance were systematically investigated. The microstructure was characterized by XPS, SEM, TEM and XRD, the absorption mechanisms were discussed. Results show that ferrite particles (0.1–0.5 μm) are uniformly loaded on the surface of graphene sheets, forming a composite structure. Electromagnetic parameter analysis indicates that with increasing ferrite content, the imaginary part of permeability increases, enhancing magnetic loss; the synergistic effect of dielectric loss and magnetic loss effectively improves impedance matching. At an absorber thickness of 3 mm, sample W3 (graphene:pure ferrite = 1:3) exhibits a maximum reflection loss of –23.8 dB at 11.8 GHz, with an effective absorption bandwidth of 3.7 GHz, demonstrating the best absorption performance among all the prepared samples, indicating that an appropriate graphene-to-ferrite ratio is essential for balancing dielectric and magnetic losses. Microstructural analysis reveals that interfacial polarization, multiple reflections, and defect-induced polarization relaxation between graphene and ferrite are key to the excellent absorption properties. This study provides experimental evidence and design strategies for developing high-performance graphenebased composite absorbers.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":646,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics","volume":"37 29","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149189394","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Optimizing thermoelectric efficiency: enhanced properties of gallium-doped indium oxide for advanced energy harvesting applications","authors":"Bo Feng,&nbsp;Zhiwen Yang,&nbsp;Suoluoyan Yang,&nbsp;Huimei Liu,&nbsp;Tongqiang Xiong,&nbsp;Zhipeng Zheng,&nbsp;Guopeng Zhou,&nbsp;Yin Zhong,&nbsp;Wenhua Dai","doi":"10.1007/s10854-026-18652-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10854-026-18652-4","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>To optimize the thermoelectric performance of indium oxide, this study explores the regulatory effect of Ga doping on its structure and multiple properties. Ga doping can effectively regulate the electronic and microstructure of indium oxide, increasing carrier concentration, density of states near the Fermi level and electrical conductivity, while decreasing carrier mobility and the absolute value of Seebeck coefficient. The enhancement effect of electrical conductivity dominates, promoting the improvement of power factor. Meanwhile, Ga doping suppresses phonon transport, reduces total thermal conductivity and lattice thermal conductivity, and decreases heat loss. In terms of mechanical properties, Young’s modulus decreases to improve toughness, and Vickers hardness increases to enhance mechanical stability. In summary, Ga doping significantly improves the ZT value of the material by synergistically regulating electrical, thermal and mechanical properties, providing reference for the design and preparation of high-performance indium oxide-based thermoelectric materials.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":646,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics","volume":"37 29","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149189285","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Electrical, thermal, and crystallographic properties of new piezoelectric conductive composites based on Rochelle salt/poly(aniline-co-o-anisidine)/PVA","authors":"Reham M. M. Morsi,&nbsp;Samir M. M. Morsi,&nbsp;Morsi M. Morsi","doi":"10.1007/s10854-026-18514-z","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10854-026-18514-z","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In this study, new piezoelectric conductive composites based on poly(aniline-co-o-anisidine) (CoPol), Rochelle salt (RS), and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) were fabricated and characterized by oxidative polymerization followed by mixing and casting techniques. The developed composites were designed to combine the electrical conductivity of CoPol, the thermoelectric and piezoelectric properties of RS, and the film-forming ability of PVA. Structural and crystallographic analyses using FTIR and XRD confirmed the successful incorporation of RS crystallites within the polymer matrix and the formation of semi-crystalline conductive composites. The electrical behavior was investigated over a frequency range of 0.042 kHz–5 MHz and a temperature range of 288–348 K. The results revealed that the composites exhibit semiconducting characteristics, where both AC and DC conductivities increased with increasing temperature and frequency. However, increasing RS content reduced the overall conductivity due to enhanced Coulombic interactions and hydrogen bonding within the composite structure. The activation energy values increased from 0.04 to 2.47 eV with increasing RS concentration. Dielectric studies demonstrated high dielectric constants at low frequencies, with the RS2 composite exhibiting an exceptionally high dielectric constant of 33,258 at 1 kHz. Electric modulus analysis indicated relaxation processes associated with ionic transport and electrode polarization effects. The obtained results suggest that the prepared RS/CoPol/PVA composites are promising candidates for dielectric energy-storage components, such as embedded capacitors, as well as piezoelectric sensors and smart electronic materials.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":646,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics","volume":"37 29","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149189220","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"F-induced changes in crystal structure, band gap, surface topography, and electrical properties of NiS thin films","authors":"Amira Sbaihi,&nbsp;Said Benramache,&nbsp;Abderraouf Zidane,&nbsp;Chaima Benbrika,&nbsp;Nadjat Chaouch","doi":"10.1007/s10854-026-18640-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10854-026-18640-8","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This study investigates the effect of F addition on the structural, optical, surface topographical, and electrical properties of NiS thin films. NiS thin films prepared with nominal fluorine concentrations of 0, 1, 3, and 5 wt% were deposited by spray pyrolysis at 250 ± 5 °C. X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed the formation of a polycrystalline hexagonal NiS phase, with no detectable secondary crystalline phases within the detection limit of XRD. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy confirmed the presence of Ni–S vibrational modes and revealed changes in their positions with the addition of F. Atomic force microscopy revealed improved surface uniformity and reduced roughness, particularly at 3 wt% F. The optical band gap increased from 0.945 to 1.525 eV with increasing nominal F concentration. This variation may be associated with combined structural, microstructural, and electronic effects, and a Burstein-Moss-type contribution may also be possible. However, it cannot be quantitatively confirmed in the absence of direct carrier-concentration measurements. Electrical measurements showed a notable improvement at 1 wt% F, where the resistivity decreased from 2.211 × 10^–4 to 4.502 × 10^–5 (Ω cm), while the conductivity increased from 4.521 × 10³ to 2.220 × 10⁴ (Ω cm)⁻¹. At higher nominal F concentrations of 3 and 5 wt%, the resistivity increased, whereas the conductivity decreased. This behavior was accompanied by a decrease in sheet resistance to 1.052 (Ω/sq) at 1 wt% F, followed by an increase at higher nominal F concentrations, which may be related to changes in defect states and carrier transport. Overall, the addition of F modified the structural, surface, optical, and electrical properties of NiS thin films, suggesting their potential for further investigation in thin-film solar cells, optoelectronic devices, and energy-related applications.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":646,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics","volume":"37 29","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149189268","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Enhanced photocatalytic degradation of rose bengal dye using Mn and Co doped TiO2 nanoparticles","authors":"Deepika Maan,&nbsp;Ashish Kumar,&nbsp;Karishma Jain,&nbsp;Bhawna Rathi,&nbsp;Sushil Kumar Jain,&nbsp;Balram Tripathi","doi":"10.1007/s10854-026-18655-1","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10854-026-18655-1","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Mn/Co co-doped TiO₂ nanocomposite (Ti_0.89Mn_0.05Co_0.06O₂) was synthesized via a facile sol–gel route to enhance the visible-light photocatalytic degradation of Rose Bengal (RB) dye, a persistent organic pollutant in textile wastewater. The result of the incorporation of Mn and Co in the lattice of TiO₂ was confirmed by structural and morphological characterization techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. It is hypothesized that co-doping is more superior than single-metal doping due to the complementary electronic modification, in which Co induced lattice distortion and defect states reduces the band gap, and Mn introduces intermediate energy levels within the band gap which together play a role in effectively suppressing electron–hole recombination. In line with the proposed hypothesis, the optical band gap was found to decrease from 3.43 eV (pristine TiO₂) to 3.40 eV (TiO₂/Mn/Co) as determined by the UV–Vis Spectroscopy. The photoluminescence (PL) measurements revealed significant PL quenching, suggesting efficient charge-carrier separation. The TiO₂/Mn/Co nanocomposite degraded 94% of RB after 150 min under natural sunlight, whereas pristine TiO₂ degraded to 92% of the dye after 150 min, and it was identified that the reactive oxygen species (ROS) are the main species that degrade the dye molecule. The degradation kinetics were well fitted into pseudo-first-order model. The absolute gain on the degradation efficiency is small but is supported by a strong body of convergent structural, vibrational, and optoelectronic evidence of dual-metal incorporation, which together validate the suppression-of-recombination mechanism. Based on these results, Mn/Co co-doped TiO₂ can be considered a potential low-cost and scalable photocatalyst, which could be a valuable contribution to sustainable environmental technologies for the removal of dyes from contaminated wastewater through solar treatment.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":646,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics","volume":"37 29","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149189276","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"pH-regulated sol–gel preparation of perovskite LaFeO3 porous nanosheets for enhanced triethylamine gas sensing","authors":"Xu Xu,&nbsp;Yulu Wei,&nbsp;Jing Li,&nbsp;Rui Fang,&nbsp;Yongli Zhu,&nbsp;Shuhao Shen,&nbsp;Wenbo Qin","doi":"10.1007/s10854-026-18647-1","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10854-026-18647-1","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Perovskite LaFeO₃ is attractive for gas sensing due to its thermal stability, tunable structure, and catalytic activity. However, the relationship among precursor pH, xerogel network formation, surface oxygen-related species, electrical baseline, and TEA-sensing behavior still needs to be clarified. Here, a pH-regulated sol–gel method was used to prepare LaFeO₃ porous nanosheets. Characterization confirms that pH affects the xerogel-derived microstructure, pore features, and surface oxygen-related components. LaFeO₃-pH7 exhibits a relatively uniform porous nanosheet morphology and the highest chemisorbed/defect-related oxygen component detected by ex situ XPS. Gas-sensing measurements show that the LaFeO₃-pH7 sensor achieves a response of about 50 toward 50 ppm triethylamine (TEA) at 220 °C, along with favorable concentration dependence, reproducibility, stability, and selectivity. The enhanced performance is attributed to the synergistic effects of the well-connected porous morphology, abundant oxygen-related active sites, and suitable electrical transport characteristics. This study demonstrates that pH regulation is a simple strategy to optimize LaFeO₃-based TEA sensors without noble-metal modification or complex heterostructure construction.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":646,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics","volume":"37 29","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149189284","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Exploring the optoelectronic properties of cerium-doped IZO thin films: experimental characterization and machine learning predictions for enhanced next-generation solar cell performance","authors":"Mohsin Khan,&nbsp;Mahrukh Shafeeq,&nbsp;Ghazi Aman Nowsherwan,&nbsp;Muhammad Bilal Asif,&nbsp;Kashif Raza,&nbsp;Musayyab Raza Khan,&nbsp;Saira Riaz,&nbsp;Shahzad Naseem","doi":"10.1007/s10854-026-18604-y","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10854-026-18604-y","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Transparent conducting oxides require an appropriate balance between optical transparency, electrical conductivity, surface energetics, and structural stability for use in optoelectronic and photovoltaic applications. In this study, undoped and Ce-doped indium zinc oxide (Ce: IZO) thin films were deposited by RF-DC magnetron co-sputtering using different Ce sputtering powers of 20, 30, and 40 W. The influence of Ce incorporation was evaluated through structural, morphological, compositional, optical, photoluminescence, work function, and Hall effect measurements, together with machine learning-assisted prediction of bandgap and electron affinity. X-ray diffraction confirmed the retention of the cubic bixbyite In₂O₃-related structure without detectable crystalline Ce-rich secondary phases. Ce:IZO deposited at 30 W exhibited the smallest crystallite size of approximately 33 nm, the highest microstrain and dislocation density, increased surface roughness, and the strongest defect-mediated photoluminescence. The optical bandgap decreased progressively from 3.57 eV for undoped IZO to 3.50, 3.37, and 3.30 eV for the 20, 30, and 40 W films, respectively, while all samples retained visible transmittance above 80%. The 30 W film showed the optimum electrical performance, with a Hall mobility of approximately 28 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹, conductivity of approximately 3.40 × 10² S cm⁻¹, and resistivity of approximately 2.94 × 10⁻³ Ω cm. Its surface work function also reached a maximum value of 4.31 eV among other samples. XGBoost and Random Forest provided the best predictions for bandgap and electron affinity, respectively. These findings demonstrate application-dependent tuning of Ce: IZO films for transparent-electrode, high work function, and luminescent-based optoelectronic applications.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":646,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics","volume":"37 29","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149189393","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}