The development of amorphous films with a wide transmission window and high refractive index is of growing significance due to the strong demand of integrating functional nanoparticles for the next-generation hybrid optoelectronic films. High-index TeO₂-based glass films made via the sol–gel process are particularly suitable as their low temperature preparation process promises high compatibility with a large variety of nanoparticles and substrates that suffer from low thermal stability. However, due to the lack of in-depth understanding of the mechanisms of the formation of undesired metallic-Te (highly absorbing species) in the films, the preparation of high-transmission TeO₂-based sol–gel films has been severely hampered. Here, by gaining insight into the mechanistic chemistry of metallic-Te formation at different stages during the non-hydrolytic sol–gel process, we identify the chemical route to prevent the generation of metallic-Te in a TeO₂-based film. The as-prepared TeO₂-based film exhibits a high transmission that is close to the theoretical limit. This opens up a new avenue for advancing the performance of hybrid optoelectronic films via incorporating a large variety of unique nanoparticles.

中文翻译：

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对亚碲酸盐玻璃薄膜的非水解溶胶-凝胶过程的机理洞察，以获得高透射率

由于下一代混合光电薄膜对集成功能纳米粒子的强烈需求，开发具有宽透射窗口和高折射率的非晶薄膜具有越来越重要的意义。通过溶胶-凝胶法制备的高指数 TeO ₂基玻璃薄膜特别适合，因为它们的低温制备工艺有望与各种热稳定性低的纳米颗粒和基材具有高度相容性。然而，由于对薄膜中不需要的金属-Te（高吸收物质）的形成机制缺乏深入的了解，因此制备高透射率TeO ₂基溶胶-凝胶薄膜受到严重阻碍。在这里，通过深入了解非水解溶胶-凝胶过程中不同阶段金属-Te 形成的机械化学，我们确定了防止在 TeO ₂基薄膜中生成金属-Te 的化学途径。所制备的基于TeO ₂的薄膜表现出接近理论极限的高透射率。这为通过结合大量独特的纳米粒子来提高混合光电薄膜的性能开辟了一条新途径。