en گروه فیزیکی و عملیات حرارتی Characterization of Physical and Thermal Properties of Materials Research Paper Research Paper <span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times="">Zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films have garnered significant interest for their applications in optoelectronics and environmental remediation due to their exceptional optical, electrical, and photocatalytic properties. However, the high resistivity and rapid charge recombination of pure ZnO necessitate doping to enhance its performance. In this study, ZnO thin films doped with tin (Sn) and aluminum (Al) were synthesized via a cost-effective pneumatic spray technique. The structural, optical, and morphological properties of the films were systematically characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-Vis spectrophotometry, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The results indicate that Sn and Al doping significantly influence ZnO&rsquo;s crystallinity, bandgap energy, and surface morphology. The optimal crystallite size was obtained for 1 wt.% Sn (37.98 nm) and 5 wt.% Al (48.63 nm), while excessive doping (>3 wt.%) introduced microstrain (10.41 &times; 10⁻⁴ for Sn and 7.13 &times; 10⁻⁴ for Al), reducing crystallinity. The optical bandgap decreased from 3.254 eV (pure ZnO) to 3.142 eV (1 wt.% Sn) and 3.152 eV (5 wt.% Al), accompanied by increased Urbach energy (0.34 eV for 5 wt.% Al). The highest optical transmittance (86%) was observed for 3 wt.% Al-doped ZnO. Pure ZnO exhibited the highest photocatalytic efficiency, achieving 85% methylene blue degradation under solar irradiation. Langmuir adsorption modeling revealed that Sn-doped ZnO exhibited the highest adsorption capacity (1.422 mg/g), followed by Al-doped ZnO (0.617 mg/g) and pure ZnO (0.495 mg/g). These findings emphasize the critical role of doping concentration in optimizing ZnO thin films for advanced photocatalytic and optoelectronic applications.</span></span></span> ZnO thin films,Sn and Al doping,Pneumatic spray deposition,Structural characterization,Photocatalysis 24 44 http://ijmse.iust.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-3682-10&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Aicha Kater aicha.kater@univ-biskra.dz 1800319475328460021756 1800319475328460021756 No Physics Laboratory of Thin Films and Applications, Biskra University, BP 145 RP, 07000, Biskra, Algeria Saâd Rahmane s.rahmane@univ-biskra.dz 1800319475328460021757 1800319475328460021757 No Physics Laboratory of Thin Films and Applications, Biskra University, BP 145 RP, 07000, Biskra, Algeria Fatima Djenidi fatimadjenidi7@gmail.com 1800319475328460021758 1800319475328460021758 No Physics Laboratory of Thin Films and Applications, Biskra University, BP 145 RP, 07000, Biskra, Algeria Hala Nezzal hala.nezzal@univ-biskra.dz 1800319475328460021759 1800319475328460021759 No Physics Laboratory of Photonics and Multifunctional Nanomaterials, BP 145, RP, 07000, Biskra, Algeria Nourelhouda Mokrani nourelhouda.mokrani@univ-biskra.dz 1800319475328460021760 1800319475328460021760 No Physics Laboratory of Thin Films and Applications, Biskra University, BP 145 RP, 07000, Biskra, Algeria Elhachmi Guettaf Temam elhachemi.guettaf@univ-biskra.dz 1800319475328460021761 1800319475328460021761 Yes Physics Laboratory of Thin Films and Applications, Biskra University, BP 145 RP, 07000, Biskra, Algeria Hadjer Barkat hadjer.barkat@univ-biskra.dz 1800319475328460021762 1800319475328460021762 No Physics Laboratory of Thin Films and Applications, Biskra University, BP 145 RP, 07000, Biskra, Algeria Boutheina Saadi bouthina.saadi@univ-biskra.dz 1800319475328460021763 1800319475328460021763 No Physics Laboratory of Thin Films and Applications, Biskra University, BP 145 RP, 07000, Biskra, Algeria Brahim Gasmi brahim.gasmi@univ-biskra.dz 1800319475328460021764 1800319475328460021764 No Physics Laboratory of Thin Films and Applications, Biskra University, BP 145 RP, 07000, Biskra, Algeria