Electrochemical and structural characterisation of dip-coated Fe/Ti oxide films prepared by the sol-gel route

Abstract

Thin solid films of mixed Fe/Ti oxide composition (Fe/Ti molar ratios: 0.5∶1, 1∶1, 1.5∶1) have been made from Fe(NO3)3 alcoholic solution to which Ti(OiPr)4 was added. Films have been deposited by the dip-coating technique and heat-treated at 300°C and 500°C. Powders of Fe/Ti oxide heat-treated at 300°C are amorphous, while powders annealed at 500°C for 40 hours transformed to mixed rutile, pseudobrookite and hematite phases. The structure of the XRD amorphous films was identified with the help of near-normal reflection absorption (6°) (IRRA) and near-grazing incidence angle (NGIA) spectroscopy. NGIA FT-IR spectra of films are characterised with a single phonon mode appearing in the spectral range 600–950 cm−1 which shifts with increasing Ti concentration from 675 cm−1 (Fe2O3) to 904 cm−1 (TiO2) thus exhibiting one-mode behavior.