Structural Properties of Fe Doped TiO2 Nanorods Prepared by Low Cost Hydrothermal Method

Sattar Hashim,Odai Salman,Khaleel Hassoon

doi:10.30684/etj.v38i3b.1800

Abstract

In this work, titanium dioxide films were deposited on fluorine tin oxide (FTO)-glass substrates using Hydrothermal method. A low-cost homemade autoclave was used to fabricate pure TiO2 and Fe-doped (0.1%, 0.3%, 0.5%, 0.7% and 1.5%) films. X-ray diffraction patterns showed that the predominant phase is rutile (R-TiO2) with peaks at (101), (002) and (112). The Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) top and cross-sectional images indicated that the films have vertically aligned nanorods structures with parallelogram cross-sectional areas and aspect ratio range (9.2-15.3).

Highlights

In recent years, titanium dioxide thin and thick films have found many applications because of their chemical stability, non-toxicity and possession of unique optical characteristics; such as good photocatalytic activity, high melting point, and high reflective index wide direct-bandgap, which means high transmittance in the visible and near-IR regions
The doping with Fe3+ dopants reduces the electron–hole recombination and improves the properties for photovoltaic and photocatalytic applications [8, 11, 12]
The Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM), which is supported with Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS), was used to view the TiO2 nanorods (Razi Applied Science Foundation - Tehran, Iran)

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Titanium dioxide thin and thick films have found many applications because of their chemical stability, non-toxicity and possession of unique optical characteristics; such as good photocatalytic activity, high melting point, and high reflective index wide direct-bandgap, which means high transmittance in the visible and near-IR regions. The doping with Fe3+ dopants reduces the electron–hole recombination and improves the properties for photovoltaic and photocatalytic applications [8, 11, 12]. The R-TiO2 phase, which is formed at higher temperatures, has a refractive index n=2.7, while A-TiO2 has a refractive index n= 2.5 [12]. The structure of TiO2 films strongly depends on the preparation method, deposition temperature and substrate surface properties [8, 11, 13]. The aim of the present work is to study the possibility of growing TiO2 nanorods using low cost hydrothermal method and the effect of Fe-doping on the structural properties of TiO2 prepared by this technique

EXPERIMENTAL DETAILS

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

CONCLUSIONS