Characterization of the structure, morphology, and optical properties of titanium dioxide thin film deposited by spray pyrolysis technique for self-cleaning glass

Abstract

The research in material science has actively pursued the creation of self-cleaning materials, especially for windows. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is considered a promising substance for developing hydrophilic self-cleaning surfaces due to its photocatalytic activity. In this research, TiO2 nanoparticles were synthesized using TiCl3 as the precursor and co-precipitation as the experimental method in order to obtain anatase phase. The nanoparticles, then, was deposited by spray pyrolysis technique with different spraying time; 1, 2, 3, and 4 minutes and different types of TiO2 nanoparticles—synthesis and commercial—as the primary variations. TiO2 thin film was formed using ethyl cellulose as binder and isopropyl alcohol as solvent. The synthesized TiO2 nanoparticles and deposited thin film were, then, characterized using XRD, Maud software, UV-Visible Spectrophotometer, optical microscope, and SEM. The higher band gap energy value of TiO2 thin films was obtained with the average of 3.746 eV and 3.744 eV for TI(S) and TI(C), respectively, as a result of ethyl cellulose composition on the thin film. The thin film was categorized as hydrophilic.