Reactively-sputtered super-hydrophilic ultra-thin titania films deposited at 120°C

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

Authors

  • Andreas Kaidatzis
  • Michalis Arfanis
  • Giorgos Papadimitropoulos
  • Polycarpos Falaras
  • Konstantinos Giannakopoulos

External Organisational units

  • Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology

Abstract

We investigate super-hydrophilic TiO2 (titania) films for concentrated solar-thermal power applications. Reactive magnetron sputtering has been used to deposit 8 to 12 nm thick titania thin films onto borosilicate microscope glass slides, low-Fe extra-clear architectural glass, or Si(100) wafers with a 500 nm thick thermal SiO2 layer. The effects of deposition temperature and O2 fraction of the O2/Ar working gas were investigated. We demonstrate the importance of the O2 fraction for obtaining optically transparent, super-hydrophilic (contact angle below 1°) thin films. In particular, we show that as the O2 fraction increases, contact angle decreases, obtaining super-hydrophilic titania thin films at deposition temperatures as low as 120 °C. Our work enables to develop low thermal budget cost-efficient industrial synthesis processes, paving the way for commercial applications.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number115501
Number of pages9
JournalMaterials Research Express : MRX
Volume10.2023
Issue number11
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Nov 2023