Abstract
Titanium dioxide (titania) is widely used as a photocatalyst for its moderate band gap, high photoactivity, recyclability, nontoxicity, low cost and its significant chemical stability. The anatase phase of titania is known to show the highest photocatalytic activity, however, the presence of this phase alone is not sufficient for sustained activity. In this study TiO2 coatings were deposited onto glass substrates by mid-frequency pulsed magnetron sputtering from metallic targets in reactive mode using a Full Face Erosion (FFE) magnetron, which allows the magnetic field to be modulated during the deposition process. The as-deposited coatings were analysed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and micro-Raman spectroscopy. Selected coatings were then annealed at temperatures in the range of 400–700 °C and re-analysed. The photocatalytic activity of the coatings was investigated through measurements of the degradation of organic dyes, such as methyl orange, under the influence of UV and fluorescent light sources. It has been demonstrated that, after annealing, the pulsed magnetron sputtering process produced photo-active surfaces and that the activity of the coatings under exposure to fluorescent lamps was some 35%–45% of that observed under exposure to UV lamps.
Highlights
Titania is a commercially important material with a wide range of applications, such as pigments, electronic data storage, sun screen and UV absorbers, anti-fogging screens, air and water purification devices and ‘self-cleaning’ windows [1,2,3]
This study indicated how the structures that form are dependent on both the deposition conditions and the post deposition annealing temperature
The present study demonstrated that the pulsed magnetron sputtering technique using a Full Face
Summary
Titania (titanium dioxide) is a commercially important material with a wide range of applications, such as pigments, electronic data storage, sun screen and UV absorbers, anti-fogging screens, air and water purification devices and ‘self-cleaning’ windows [1,2,3]. Self-cleaning glass has a surface coating that keeps itself free of dirt and grime through natural photo-induced processes. The coating is commonly based on thin film titanium dioxide. The photocatalytic stage of the process breaks down any organic material on the glass using ultraviolet radiation in sunlight. Rain water will form ‘sheets’ over the hydrophilic surface and rinse away the residue of the organic dirt [4,5,6]. Titanium dioxide in nature exists in one of three crystalline forms, anatase, rutile and brookite, and in thin film form, its structure is known to be highly sensitive to deposition conditions
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