Structural and physicochemical properties of titanium dioxide thin films obtained by reactive magnetron sputtering, on the surface of track-etched membranes

Abstract

Titanium dioxide thin films have been prepared by reactive sputtering onto the surface of tracketched polyethylene terephthalate membranes using an inverted dc magnetron, and their structural and physicochemical properties have been examined. A silver film applied onto the membrane surface by physical vapor deposition has been used to protect the polymer from the photocatalytic action of titanium dioxide. The structural characteristics of the composite membranes have been studied by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, spectrophotometry, and atomic force microscopy. The effects of photoinduced surface hydrophilization and catalytic decomposition of the dye rhodamine 6G have been investigated.