Investigation of superhydrophilic mechanism of titania nano layer thin film—Silica and indium oxide dopant effect

In this paper, TiO₂?CSiO₂?CIn₂O₃ nano layer thin films were deposited on glass substrate using sol?Cgel dip coating method. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and water contact angle measurements were used to evaluate chemical structure, surface composition, hydroxyl group contents and superhydrophilicity of titania films. FTIR result indicated that Si?CO?CSi, Si?CO?CTi and Ti?CO?CTi bands formed in TiO₂?CSiO₂?CIn₂O₃ sample. According to XPS, the hydroxyl content for TiO₂, TiO₂?CSiO₂ and TiO₂?CSiO₂?CIn₂O₃ films was calculated as 11·6, 17·1 and 20·7%, respectively. The water contact angle measurements indicated that silica and indium oxide dopant improved the superhydrophilicity of titania nano film surface especially in a dark place. The enhanced superhydrophilicity can be related to the generation of surface acidity on the titania nano film surfaces. In the present state, superhydrophilicity is induced by the simultaneous presence of both Lewis and Bronsted sites.     

Effect of crystal structure on photoinduced superhydrophilicity of copper grafted TiO2 nanostructure thin film

In this work, copper grafted titanium dioxide (rutile and brookite) thin films were deposited on glass substrates using the dip-coating method. Field emission scanning electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were used to evaluate the surface morphology and properties of the film surfaces. The water contact angle on the film surfaces during irradiation and storage in a dark place was measured by a contact angle analyser. The results indicate that copper grafted titanium dioxide brookite thin film showed higher hydrophilicity than copper grafted titania rutile thin film.