Development of ZnO/SiO2/Si Thin Films for Photothermoelectric Applications: Synthesis and Characterization
DOI:
10.29303/jppipa.v11i10.12935Published:
2025-11-21Downloads
Abstract
Photothermoelectric (PTE) conversion integrates photothermal and thermoelectric effects, where light irradiation generates a temperature gradient that induces voltage through the Seebeck effect. This study examines the influence of annealing treatment on the structural, morphological, and optical properties of ZnO/SiO₂/Si thin films for PTE applications. ZnO films were synthesized on SiO₂/Si substrates modified via a hydrothermal process, with samples prepared under two conditions: without annealing and with annealing at 700, 1000, and 1100°C. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis showed that the unannealed sample had low crystallinity and small grain size, while annealed samples exhibited improved crystallinity and grain growth consistent with the wurtzite ZnO phase. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM-EDX) revealed that annealing transformed irregular, porous structures into more compact and uniform grains, with elemental composition approaching the stoichiometric Zn:O ratio. UV–Vis spectroscopy indicated that annealing broadened the absorption range (330–1100 nm) and reduced defect-related absorption. The enhanced crystallinity and optical absorption imply improved photothermal and thermoelectric potential. Overall, optimizing annealing temperature effectively enhances the light–heat–electricity conversion capability of ZnO/SiO₂/Si thin films for photothermoelectric device applications.
Keywords:
Annealing Hydrotermal Photothermoelectric Solar cell efficiency ZnOReferences
Ade, R., Kumar, S. S., Valanarasu, S., Kumar, S. S., Sasikumar, S., Ganesh, V., ... & Yahia, I. S. (2021). Enhanced Optoelectronic Properties of Ti-Doped ZnO Nanorods for Photodetector Applications. Ceramics International, 47(17), 24031–24038. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2021.05.112
Ananda, J. A., Rahono, S., & Rachmanita, R. E. (2020). Study of Conduction-Based Waste Heat Conversion System Using Thermoelectric Generator. Jurnal Teknologi Terpadu (JTT), 8(2), 126–133. Retrieved from https://sipora.polije.ac.id/12698/
Andari, R. (2017). Synthesis and Characterization of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSC) Using Anthocyanin Sensitizer from Rosella Flower (Hibiscus sabdariffa). Journal of Physics Science and Innovation (JIIF), 1(2), 140–150. http://dx.doi.org/10.12962%2Fj24604682.v13i2.2751
Arulraj, A. (2025). Enhanced Photoconductive Response of ZnO Thin Films with the Impact of Annealing Temperatures on Structural and Optical Properties. Scientific Reports, 15(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-02177-7
Jamaludin, N. J. A. B., & Subramani, S. (2019). Effect of Substrate Temperature Deposition on the Thermal and Optical Performance of ZnO Thin Films as Thermal Interface Material. Optical and Quantum Electronics, 51(11), 357. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11082-019-2058-7
Busthomy, P. L., & Widyartono, M. (2020). Thermoelectric Generator Utilizing Waste Heat from Combustion Fire for Mobile Phone Battery Charging. Jurnal Teknik Elektro, 9(2). https://doi.org/10.26740/jte.v9n2.p%25p
Cai, Y., & Guo, Z. (2019). Spectral Investigation of Solar Energy Absorption and Light Transmittance in a Water-Filled Prismatic Glass Louver. Solar Energy, 179, 164–173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2018.12.066
Das, S., Ghorai, U. K., Dey, R., Ghosh, C. K., & Pal, M. (2021). Effect of Annealing on the Defect-Mediated Blue Phosphorescence in ZnO Nanocrystals. RSC Advances, 11(1), 335–348. https://doi.org/10.1039/D0RA04766J
Dewi, T., Risma, P., Oktarina, Y., Roseno, T., Handayani, A. S., Wijanarko, Y., & Yudha, H. M. (2016). A Survey on Solar Cell: The Role of Solar Cell in Robotics and Its Application in the Solar Cell Industry. Proceedings of the Forum in Research, Science, and Technology (FIRST) 2016. Politeknik Negeri Sriwijaya. Retrieved from http://eprints.polsri.ac.id/3576/3/C4.pdf
Febriliani, A., Denny, Y. R., & Antarnusa, G. (2025). XRD Analysis of Fe₃O₄ Nanoparticles with Synthesis Temperature Variation. Jurnal FisTa: Physics and Its Applications, 6(1), 14–18. https://doi.org/10.53682/fista.v6i1.418
Hakim, L., Dirgantara, M., & Nawir, M. (2019). Structural Characterization of C-Class Excavation Sand Material Using X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) in Palangkaraya. Jurnal Jejaring Mathematics and Science, 1(1), 44–51. https://doi.org/10.36873/jjms.v1i1.136
Hiendro, A., & Suryadi, D. (2019). Design and Testing of a Thermoelectric Power Generation System Using a Solar Stove as a Heat Concentrator Medium. Journal of Electrical Engineering, Energy, and Information Technology (J3EIT), 7(2). https://doi.org/10.26418/j3eit.v7i2.35278
Iwantono, F., Anggelina, F., Pajrin, E., Akrajas, A., Umar, & Awitdrus, A. (2016). Hydrothermal Synthesis of Doped ZnO with Annealing Temperature Variation and Its Effect on DSSC Performance. Proceedings of SEMIRATA in Science (MIPA), 1073–1076.
Jin, X. Z., Li, H., Wang, Y., Yang, Z. Y., Qi, X. D., Yang, J. H., & Wang, Y. (2022). Ultraflexible PEDOT: PSS/Helical Carbon Nanotubes Film for All-in-One Photothermoelectric Conversion. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 14(23), 27083–27095. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.2c05875
Kareem, M. M., Khodair, Z. T., & Mohammed, F. Y. (2020). Effect of Annealing Temperature on Structural, Morphological and Optical Properties of ZnO Nanorod Thin Films Prepared by Hydrothermal Method. Journal of Ovonic Research, 16(1), 53–61. https://dx.doi.org/10.15251/JOR.2020.161.53
Khalisha, N., Nafisah, D. A., Hidayani, Y., & Rahayu, S. (2025). MIAVOLT: Fabrication of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Based on Miana (Coleus scutellarioides L.) and Alfalfa Chlorophyll (Medicago sativa L.) Extracts as Renewable Energy in Remote Areas. Journal of Science and Qur'an Integration (JISQu), 4(1), 383–391. https://doi.org/10.64477/jisqu.v4i01.125
Khan, A. U., Malik, N., Singh, B., Ansari, N. H., Rehman, M., & Yadav, A. (2023). Biosynthesis and Characterization of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles (ZnONPs) Obtained from Strawberry Waste Extract. Journal of Umm Al-Qura University for Applied Sciences, 9(3), 268–275. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43994-023-00038-5
Liang, Y. C., Hung, C. S., & Zhao, W. C. (2020). Thermal Annealing Induced Controllable Porosity and Photoactive Performance of 2D ZnO Sheets. Nanomaterials, 10(7), 1352. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano10071352
Manurung, D. N., Nurhidayah, N., & Deswardani, F. (2021). Pengaruh Penggunaan DYE Tunggal dan DYE Campuran Antosianin-Klorofil Terhadap Efisiensi Kerja DYE Sensitized Solar Cell (DSSC). JPFT (Jurnal Pendidikan Fisika Tadulako Online), 9(1), 83–88. https://doi.org/10.22487/jpft.v9i1.827
Masta, N. (2020). Learning Material Book on Scanning Electron Microscopy. Jakarta: Universitas Kristen Indonesia.
Pradana, M. A., & Widyartono, M. (2020). Prototype of Thermoelectric Power Generator Using Aluminum, Brass, and Zinc Heat Conductors. Journal of Electrical Engineering, 9(2). https://doi.org/10.26740/jte.v9n2.p%25p
Purbayanto, M. A. K., Rahmah, G., Nurfani, E., & Darma, Y. (2017). Analysis of the Optical Properties of ZnO Thin Films on SiO₂ and Si Substrates Using Ellipsometry Spectroscopy. Retrieved from https://ifory.id/proceedings/2017/RFdrG9aTL/snips_2017_muhammad_abiyyu_kenichi_purbayanto_9ivxxhlz25.pdf
Rani, S. R. A. (2022). Analysis of X-Ray Diffraction Data on Natural Zircon Sand Material Using the Rietveld Method. JFT: Journal of Physics and Its Applications, 9(1), 16–22. https://doi.org/10.24252/jft.v9i1.25470
Rehman, U., Mahmood, K., Ali, A., & Ikram, S. (2020). Comparison of Thermoelectric Properties of ZnO and ZnSnO Thin Films Grown on Si Substrate by Thermal Evaporation. Journal of Materials and Physical Sciences, 1(2), 78–86. https://doi.org/10.52131/jmps.2020.0102.0008
Rifky, R., Mugisidi, D., Fikri, A., Mujirudin, M., & Avorizano, A. (2023). Effect of Solar Cell Orientation Based on Cardinal Directions on Its Performance. Journal of Technology of Materials and Technical Goods, 11(1), 37–44. https://doi.org/10.37209/jtbbt.v11i1.213
Sahdiah, H., & Kurniawan, R. (2023). Optimization of Accelerating Voltage in Scanning Electron Microscope–Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (SEM-EDX) for Morphology Observation of Biological Samples. Journal of Science and Science Education, 6(2), 117–123. https://10.24246/juses.v6i2p117-123
Septiano, A. F., Susilo, S., & Setyaningsih, N. E. (2021). Image Analysis of Lead Resin Composites Using Scanning Electron Microscopy–Energy Dispersive X-Ray (SEM-EDX) with Contrast-to-Noise Ratio (CNR) Method. Indonesian Journal of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, 44(2), 81–85. https://dx.doi.org/10.15294/ijmns.v44i2.33143
Suhartati, T. (2017). Fundamentals of UV-Vis Spectrophotometry and Mass Spectrometry for Determining the Structure of Organic Compounds. Lampung: Anugrah Utama Raharja.
Tee, S. Y., Win, K. Y., Goh, S. S., Teng, C. P., Tang, K. Y., Regulacio, M. D., … & Ye, E. (2022). Introduction to Photothermal Nanomaterials. Royal Society of Chemistry, 1–32. https://doi.org/10.1039/9781839165177-00001
Thi, T. U. D., Nguyen, T. T., Thi, Y. D., Thi, K. H. T., Phan, B. T., & Pham, K. N. (2020). Green Synthesis of ZnO Nanoparticles Using Orange Fruit Peel Extract for Antibacterial Activities. RSC Advances, 10(40), 23899–23907. https://doi.org/10.1039/D0RA04926C
Üzar, N., Abdulaziz, U., Erbas, O. G., Aydin, M., & Dolgun, M. F. (2024). Enhancement of Structural, Optical, Electrical, Optoelectronic, and Thermoelectric Properties of ZnO Thin Film via Ni Doping and Ni-B Co-Doping. Physica Scripta, 99(7), 075995. https://doi.org/10.1088/1402-4896/ad5873
Wagh, S. S., Jagtap, C. V., Kadam, V. S., Shaikh, S. F., Ubaidullah, M., Salunkhe, D. B., & Patil, R. S. (2022). Silver-Doped ZnO Nanoparticles Synthesized for Photocatalysis Application. ES Energy & Environment, 17(12), 94–105. http://dx.doi.org/10.30919/esee8e720
Yanel, K., & Saferi, R. (2023). Arduino-Based Prototype of Solar Tracker. Juritek, 3(2), 349–359. https://doi.org/10.51903/juritek.v3i2.1897
Zhang, L., Du, Y. Q., Li, J. B., & Wang, J. (2024). A Study on the Relationship between the Thermoelectric Properties and Infrared Emission Performance of ZnO/SrTiO3 Composite Materials. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 16(39), 52712–52718. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.4c13105
Zheng, Y., Li, X., Zhou, J., Qin, Y., Deng, Y., & Wang, Y. (2024). Boosted Photothermoelectric Effect in Silver Nanoparticles Decorated Carbon Nanotube Films for Infrared Detection and Actuation. Carbon, 219, 118810. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbon.2024.118810
Zhou, Z., Yang, W., Peng, H., & Zhao, S. (2024). Preparation and Photoelectric Properties of ZnO-SiO₂ Films with a Sol–Gel Method Combined with Spin-Coating. Sensors, 24(23), 7751. https://doi.org/10.3390/s24237751
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Lia Fibriyanti, Robi Kurniawan , Chusnana Insjaf Yogihati, Eny Latifah
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with Jurnal Penelitian Pendidikan IPA, agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY License). This license allows authors to use all articles, data sets, graphics, and appendices in data mining applications, search engines, web sites, blogs, and other platforms by providing an appropriate reference. The journal allows the author(s) to hold the copyright without restrictions and will retain publishing rights without restrictions.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in Jurnal Penelitian Pendidikan IPA.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
