Structural, morphological, and optical studies of sol–gel spin coated TiO2 thin films

Abstract

Nanoporous mesostructured Titanium dioxide [TiO2] thin films were deposited on a glass substrate by sol–gel spin coating method using Titanium tetra isopropoxide as a precursor. One set of the prepared samples was annealed at 300 °C for an hour and another set at 400 °C for an hour. The study of structural, morphological, and optical characterizations of these films was carried out using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, FESEM, and UV–vis spectroscopy. The XRD pattern confirms the formation of the anatase phase of TiO2 nanostructured thin films. The strong Raman line at around 144 cm−1 confirms the anatase phase of the synthesized TiO2. FESEM images show plate-like TiO2 particles from micrometer to sub-micrometer size in the grown thin films. The size of the particles was found to be bigger in dimension in the 400 °C annealed TiO2 thin films than in 300 °C annealed TiO2 thin films. The UV–visible optical absorption studies show high optical absorption in TiO2 thin films in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum.