Hybrid sol-gel silica films with (TiO2-CeO2) binary nanopowders

Abstract

In the present work the preparation of hybrid sol-gel silica coatings doped with binary TiO2-CeO2 nanopowders was studied. The oxide powder was embedded in the hybrid matrix either by in-situ generation or by previously prepared powder dispersion. The main objective of the work was to establish a correlation between the method of generation of the dopant particles in the system and the properties of the films. The films were deposited on silicon wafer and glass substrates by the 'dip-coating' method and characterized in the as-prepared stage and after annealing at 120 °C. The optical and morphological properties of the films deposited on glass and silicon wafer were determined by spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.