Investigation of the effects of sintering and indium-doping of zinc oxide using Zn magic angle spinning NMR analysis.

Indium-doped zinc oxide, a potential alternative material to indium tin oxide, was analyzed in powder form via Zn magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (MAS NMR). The Zn MAS NMR results show that the line shapes of zinc oxide were broadened by sintering, which was also observed for indium-doped zinc oxide, in which the broadening also depended on the sintering time. Furthermore, the line shapes of indium-doped zinc oxide were significantly broader than those of the corresponding zinc oxide, and were independent of the degree of indium doping. This indicates that indium atoms are associated into cluster-like structures in this compound.