Self-cleaning properties of TiO2-SiO2-In 2O3 nanocomposite thin film

Abstract

TiO2 -SiO2 -In2O3 nanocomposite thin film was deposited on the glass substrates using a dip coating technique. The morphology, surface composition, surface hydroxyl groups, photocatalytic activity and hydrophilic properties of the thin film were investigated by AFM, XPS, methyl orange decoloring rate and water contact angle measurements. The hydroxyl content for TiO2, TiO2-SiO2 and TiO2-SiO2-In2O3 nanocomposite films was calculated to be 11.6, 17.1 and 20.7%, respectively. TiO2- SiO2-In2O3 film turned superhydrophilic after 180- min irradiation with respect to pure TiO2 and TiO 2-SiO2 thin films. The photocatalytic decomposition of methyl orange for TiO2, TiO2-SiO2 and TiO 2-SiO2-In2O3 thin films was measured as 38.19, 58.71 and 68.02%, respectively. The results indicated that SiO 2 and In2O3 had a significant effect on the hydrophilic, photocatalytic and self-cleaning properties of TiO2 thin film. Copyright © 2005 KCSNET.