Influence of catalyst on structural and morphological properties of TiO2 nanostructured films prepared by sol–gel on glass

Abstract

Transparent TiO2 thin films have been prepared by the sol–gel method using titanium alkoxides as precursors. Thin films were deposited on glass supports by the dip-coating technique. The TiO2 layer acts as a self-cleaning coating generated from its photocatalysis and photoinduced superhydrophilicity. The crystalline structure of TiO2 films was dominantly identified as the anatase phase, consisted of uniform spherical particles of about 14–50nm in size, which strongly depends upon catalyst-type and heat treatment temperature. Increasing heat treating temperature can lead to an increase in crystalline size. The results indicated that the sample S.S (sample derived from sol containing sulfuric acid as catalyst) exhibits superhydrophilic nature and better photocatalytic activity, which can be attributed to its higher anatase content and lower crystalline size. Morphological studies, carried out using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), confirm the presence of crystalline phase with such a grain size and low surface roughness. Thus, the applied films exhibiting high photocatalytic activity, superhydrophilic behavior, and low surface roughness can be used as an efficient self-cleaning coating on glass and other optical applications.