Synthesis of epitaxial pentasodium trioxoundecafluoro-trititanate with plate-like morphology on fluorine-doped tin oxide coated glass substrates

Abstract

A route for synthesis of epitaxial pentasodium trioxoundecafluoro-trititanate (Na5(Ti3O3F11)) with plate-like morphology on fluorine-doped tin oxide coated glass substrates (FTO- glass) using the hydrothermal bath method is described and discussed, followed by the presentation of a systematic study of the physical properties of the samples. The samples are textured with a small amount of micron sized crystals existing among predominantly plate like structures of Na5(Ti3O3F11). These structures are attached to the F:SnO2 (FTO) layer due to their nucleation and growth on the substrate surface during the hydrothermal process. Additionally, an epitaxial relationship between the fluorine doped SnO2 layer and plate-like (Na5(Ti3O3F11)) exists: an alignment of planes along (111). Last of all, a set of unidentified vibrational Raman modes recorded from Na5(Ti3O3F11) plates grown on fluorine-doped tin oxide is presented.