Influence of Annealing and UV Irradiation on Hydrophilicity of Ag-TiO2 Nanostructured Thin Films. (16th August 2012)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Meng, Fanming; Sun, Zhaoqi; Song, Xueping
• Other Names: Yu Huogen Academic Editor.
• Is Part Of: Journal of nanomaterials. Volume 2012(2012)
• Publication Date: 2012-08-16
• Subjects: Nanostructured materials -- Periodicals; Nanotechnology -- Periodicals; Nanomatériaux; Nanostructured materials; Nanotechnology; Nanostructures; Nanotechnology; Periodicals; Fulltext; Internet Resources; Periodicals; 620.115
• DOI: 10.1155/2012/310514
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1687-4110

Abstract

Abstract : Ag-TiO2 nanostructured thin films with silver content of 5 vol% have been deposited on silicon, glass, and quartz substrates by RF magnetron sputtering and annealed in ambient air at 900°C for 15, 30, 60, 90, and 120 min. Their crystal structure, surface morphology, and hydrophilicity have been characterized by X-ray diffractometer, atomic force microscope, and water contact angle apparatus, respectively. The influence of annealing time and UV irradiation time on hydrophilic property of Ag-TiO2 thin films have been studied in detail. It is shown that annealing time influences crystal structure of Ag-TiO2 thin films. The unannealed film is amorphous and shows poor hydrophilicity. With the increase of annealing time from 15 to 120 min, the grain-size slowly increases and tends to uniformity. A suitable annealing time can significantly enhance the hydrophilic behavior of Ag-TiO2 films. Water contact angle decreases with the increase of irradiation time. The mechanism of hydrophilicity has been proposed and can be attributed to the increase of oxygen anion radicals O 2 - and reactive center of surface Ti 3 + .