Pulsed laser deposition of titania on rutile nanorod arrays

Oriented rutile nanorod arrays are precipitated on metallic Ti plates from a precursor derived by interactions between Ti and aqueous hydrogen peroxide. Pulsed laser deposition (PLD) is then carried out to deposit titania on the nanorod arrays, in comparison with bare Ti substrates, utilizing a high-temperature sintered rutile target in oxygen atmosphere. It is found that dense and homogeneous titania thin films are obtained on Ti substrates; while growth on the rutile nanorod arrays is epitaxial, resulting in enlarged nanorods conformally covered with titania. Titania grown on both Ti substrates and rutile nanorod arrays is either pure rutile or a mixture of anatase and rutile, with the formation of anatase favored by an increasing oxygen pressure during the PLD procedure. The surface roughness and the particle size of the dense titania films on Ti substrates increase as a result of increasing oxygen pressure and prolonged deposition time. The PLD-induced epitaxial growth of titania is inhibited by increasing substrate temperatures. The photocatalytic experiments reveal a significantly enhanced activity for the rutile nanorod arrays after a subsequent PLD treatment.