Titanium dioxide thin films: A study of film morphology and structural changes upon photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue

Abstract

TiO2 thin films were deposited by reactive DC-magnetron sputtering at different Ar/O2 ratios in the gas mixture. The photocatalytic activity (under UV light irradiation) of these films was evaluated upon degradation of aqueous solutions of methylene blue (MB), a model organic pollutant. Upon photocatalysis, the TiO2 films showed structural, morphological and compositional changes that were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX). © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.