Dresden 2011 – scientific programme

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DS: Fachverband Dünne Schichten

DS 42: Poster I: Progress in Micro- and Nanopatterning: Techniques and Applications (jointly with O); Spins in Organic Materials; Ion Interactions with Nano Scale Materials; Organic Electronics and Photovoltaics; Plasmonics and Nanophotonics (jointly with HL and O); High-k and Low-k Dielectrics (jointly with DF); Organic Thin Films; Nanoengineered Thin Films; Layer Deposition Processes; Layer Properties: Electrical, Optical, and Mechanical Properties; Thin Film Characterisation: Structure Analysis and Composition; Application of Thin Films

DS 42.78: Poster

Wednesday, March 16, 2011, 15:00–17:30, P1

Photocatalysis in sputtered TiO₂ thin films: Measurement of the surface work function to correlate structural features with photocatalytic activity — •Alexandra Yatim, Dominik Köhl, and Matthias Wuttig — I. Physikalisches Institut IA, RWTH Aachen, Germany

Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) is known for its very unique physical properties. Specifically, TiO₂ provides a large refractive index and a pronounced photocatalytic activity. Therefore it has become the material of choice in the fabrication of anti-reflective or self-cleaning coatings in architectural glazing. Interestingly, although products already exist on the market, little is known about the underlying mechanism governing the strong photocatalysis. This particularly includes insufficient knowledge about the influence of the specific coating process on the activity of the films. In the architectural glazing industry, magnetron sputtering is preferably utilized since it provides both, homogeneity of the coating on large area substrates and flexibility in the choice of materials. Hence, it is the aim of the present work to investigate the photocatalytic properties of sputtered TiO₂ thin films. Kelvin Probe measurements to determine the surface photovoltage of the specimens under UV illumination are utilized. The data is compared and correlated with data of structural properties from XRD and AFM measurements and with the specific deposition conditions. The major goal of the study is to explain the photocatalytic activity of the specimens on a microscopic scale and hence to find criteria that allow for the fabrication of highly active coatings.