Effect of magnesium doping on the light-induced hydrophilicity of ZnO thin films

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Undoped and Mg-doped ZnO thin films were deposited on Si (111) and quartz substrates by using the sol-gel method. Microstructure, surface topography and water contact angle of the thin films have been measured by X-ray diffraction (XRD), an atomic force microscope (AFM) and water contact angle apparatus, respectively. The XRD results show that all the thin films are polycrystalline with a hexagonal structure and have a preferred orientation along the c-axis perpendicular to the substrate. With the increase of Mg concentration, the RMS roughness increases from 2.14 to 9.56 nm and the contact angle of the un-irradiated thin films decreases from 89° to 82°. The wetting behavior of the resulting films can be reversibly switched from hydrophobic to hydrophilic, through alternation of UV illumination and dark storage. The light-induced efficiency of the thin films increases with the increase of Mg concentration.