Suppression of Anatase to Rutile Phase Transformation of Niobium doped TiO2 Synthesized by High Temperature Diffusion Technique

Abstract

The effects of niobium doping (for doping concentrations: 0.02 – 0.06 at. % Nb5+) on the crystal structure of TiO2 prepared by high temperature diffusion method were investigated. The samples were characterized using energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) and X- ray diffraction (XRD) spectroscopy to investigate the chemical compositions, phase compositions and crystallinity of the thin films respectively. Despite the expected high reutilization at high temperatures (>600oC), XRD results confirmed a significant suppression of anatase to rutile phase transformation at even a higher synthesis (850oC) temperature. Grain growth retardation was also observed in niobium doped TiO2, results which were attributed to Nb5+ substitution of lattice Ti4+.