Low Temperature Growth of Photoactive Titania by Atmospheric Pressure Plasma

• Published in: Plasma processes and polymers Vol. 6; no. 9; pp. 575 - 582
• Main Authors: Hodgkinson, John L., Yates, Heather M., Sheel, David W.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Weinheim WILEY-VCH Verlag 15.09.2009; WILEY‐VCH Verlag; Wiley-VCH
• Subjects: atmospheric pressure glow discharges (APGD); Chemical vapor deposition (including plasma-enhanced cvd, mocvd, etc.); Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science; rheology; CVD; Electric discharges; Exact sciences and technology; Glow; corona; Ion and electron beam-assisted deposition; ion plating; Materials science; Methods of deposition of films and coatings; film growth and epitaxy; photoactivity; Physics; Physics of gases, plasmas and electric discharges; Physics of plasmas and electric discharges; Theory and models of film growth; titania; RBS; Atmospheric pressure; atmospheric pressure glow discharges (APGD); photoactivity; Annealing temperature; Crystallinity; XRD; Precursor; Thin films; CVD; titania; Temperature effects; Growth mechanism; PECVD; Thermal annealing; Plasma deposition; Glow discharges; X-ray photoelectron spectra
• ISSN: 1612-8850; 1612-8869
• DOI: 10.1002/ppap.200900028

Atmospheric pressure glow discharge plasma CVD was used to deposit thin films of titania at 200 °C using two different precursors. The resulting films were characterised using techniques including XPS, RBS and XRD. It was established that annealing at temperatures as low as 275 °C produced crystalline films that were photocatalytically active. When annealed at 300 °C the photoactivity was greater than that of commercially available “self‐cleaning” titania films. The effects of the different precursors, annealing times and temperatures on the crystallinity and photoactivity are discussed. Atmospheric pressure glow discharge plasma CVD can be used to produce highly uniform and scratch resistant thin films of titania whose properties depend on the precursors used. As‐deposited films are amorphous and sub‐stoichiometric, however, they become crystalline and photoactive upon annealing. Deposition on glass rather than quartz produces variation in films properties possibly due to variations in plasma characteristics.