Structural characterization and photocatalytic activity of ultrathin TiO2 films fabricated by Langmuir-Blodgett technique with octadecylamine

TiO₂ thin films with nanometer-scale thicknesses were prepared by the hydrolysis of titanium potassium oxalate using octadecylamine (ODA) Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films as templates. After optimizing conditions in immersion process, the amount of TiO₂ generated in the ODA LB film was found to be precisely controlled by the number of deposited ODA layers. Morphological measurements showed that uniform TiO₂ film with surface roughness of less than 1.3 nm could be prepared from the monolayer LB films through subsequent heat-treatment process, while generation of cracks became less noticeable on the 5-layer film after heat-treatment at lower holding temperature with slow heating rate. In addition, photocatalytic activities of the TiO₂ films were examined from the decomposition of cadmium stearate (CdSt) LB films and stearic acid (SA) cast films for different time intervals of irradiation with UV light. Atomic force microscopy measurements showed that an almost flat surface of the CdSt LB film changes to a moth-eaten appearance as a result of decomposition under UV light irradiation. Furthermore, the post-heat-treatment at higher temperatures resulted in decreased photocatalytic activity of the TiO₂ film for the decomposition of SA cast film.