Effect of titanium source and sol-gel TiO2 thin film formation parameters on its morphology and photocatalytic activity
TiO2 thin films with different surface structure have been prepared from alkoxide solutions by the sol-gel method using different cationic precursors and heat treatment techniques. The effect of using titanium isopropoxide as well as titanium butoxide as a titanium source on the surface structure an...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Sciendo
2020-09-01
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| Series: | Materials Science-Poland |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.2478/msp-2020-0056 |
| Summary: | TiO2 thin films with different surface structure have been prepared from alkoxide solutions by the sol-gel method using different cationic precursors and heat treatment techniques. The effect of using titanium isopropoxide as well as titanium butoxide as a titanium source on the surface structure and photocatalytic activity of the resultant thin films was studied. Significant differences in the rate of hydrolysis and condensation reactions during the sol-gel synthesis were observed for these titanium precursors. This had a direct influence on the morphology of the as-prepared TiO2 films. Higher quality oxide coatings were obtained from titanium isopropoxide. They were characterized by a smaller grain size, improved surface roughness and uniform coverage of the glass substrate. A beneficial effect of calcination process after each sol application cycle in contrast to single step calcination after all dip-coating cycles was observed. Photocatalytic degradation tests showed that methyl orange was decolorized in the presence of all prepared TiO2 films by exposing their aqueous solutions to UV light (λ = 254 nm). The highest photocatalytic activity had the TiO2 layer produced using titanium isopropoxide. |
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| ISSN: | 2083-134X |