eng Science and Education Publishing American Journal of Nanomaterials 2372-3122 2017-10-21 5 2 59 67 10.12691/ajn-5-2-3 AJN2017523 article NM Ndiaye 1 M Thiam 1 BD Ngom 1 2 3 4 O Sakho 4 M Chaker 4 N Manyala 5 AC Beye 5 Laboratory of Photonics and Nano-Fabrication, Solid State and Materials Sciences Group (GPSSM), Faculty of Sciences and Technics, University of Cheikh Anta Diop of Dakar (UCAD) B.P. 25114 Dakar-Fann Dakar (Senegal) Department of Physics, SARChI Chair in Carbon Technology and Materials, Institute of Applied Materials, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa Vanadium dioxide thin films nanostructures were synthesized by pulsed laser deposition on soda lime glass at a substrate temperature of 600°C and the effects of the oxygen deposition pressure on the crystalline structure and the phase transition characteristics of VO2 nanostructured films were investigated. The structure and microstructure of the films have been examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Results indicate that the crystal structure of the films is strongly sensitive to the oxygen deposition pressure; exhibiting sharp a-axis diffraction peaks, showing a texturation along (1 0 0) plane. A detailed description of the growth mechanisms and the substrate-film interaction is given, and the characteristics of the electronic transition and hysteresis of the phase transition are described in terms of the morphology, grain boundary structure and crystal orientation. The sharpness of the transition and the hysteresis upon heating and cooling are found to be strong functions of the crystal structure and microstructure (grain size). http://pubs.sciepub.com/ajn/5/2/3/ajn-5-2-3.pdf B Crystal growth A Optical Material A Thin Films C X-ray Diffraction D Phase Transition