Abstract
Sol-gel derived SiO2, TiO2, xSiO2−(100−x)TiO2 (where x=10, 20, 40, 50, 60, 80 mol%) films on silicon substrates were nitrided by ammonia treatment at 1200°C. The structural transformations occur in silica–titania films as a result of ammonolysis. These transformations were studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). XPS spectra of nitrided films showed that Ti atoms are bonding to nitrogen as well as to oxygen. The shape of the Ti(2p) spectra are changed after nitridation and after deconvolution of at least three components, related to oxide, oxynitride and nitride can be detected. AFM was used to study the nanoscale morphologies of the coatings. AFM observations revealed that all nitrided films containing more than 40mol% TiO2 are almost completely covered by TiN nano-crystals that increase in size with TiO2 content. Oxide and oxynitride phases are responsible for the bonding between the TiN nano-crystals and the silicon substrate.
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