Preparation of super-hydrophilic SiO۲-TiO۲ thin film for photocatalytic application

Silicon dioxide-titanium dioxide (SiO۲-TiO۲) thin films with super-hydrophilic properties and photocatalytic activitywere prepared on the glass substrates by a simple dip-coating method. Morphological, structural and opticalproperties of the SiO۲-TiO۲ thin films were characterized by using Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy(FESEM), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) patterns, and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The XRD patterns indicate decrease ofthe crystallite size from ۵۱.۰ nm to ۲۲.۷ nm. Optical measurements were used to calculate band gap of TiO۲ whichreduced from ۳.۱۳ eV to ۲.۶۳ eV with addition of SiO۲. Water Contact Angle (WCA) measurements showed thatSiO۲-TiO۲ thin film has super-hydrophilic property. Upon investigating the photocatalytic activity, an improvedperformance compared to TiO۲ in terms of higher efficiency (~۱۰۰%) and rate (~۰.۰۲۳ min-۱) in degradation ofmethylene blue (MB) under visible light was achieved.

Keywords:

SiO۲-TiO۲ , thin film , photocatalyst , super-hydrophilic