The Effect of Dopant Sb on the Superhydrophilicity and the Microstructure of the Nanoscale TiO<sub>2</sub> Thin Film

Abstract

TiO2: Sb nanoscale thin films were deposited on glass substrates by the sol-gel method. The influence of the dopant density on the photo-induced superhydrophilicity of the thin films was investigated and the influences on the structure and the phase transformation of the thin films were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectra. The results show that the pure TiO2 thin film composed of not only amorphous but also brookite and anatase. Dopant Sb enhances the crystallization rate of the TiO2 from amorphous to brookite and anatase phase. After doping proper amount of Sb, the thin films show more photo-induced superhydrophilicity than the pure TiO2 thin film as well. The crystalline size of the TiO2: Sb thin films is about 13.3~20.0 nm calculated from the XRD patterns.