Sol-Gel Synthesis of TiO₂ Thin Films from In-House Nano-TiO₂ Powder

Mohd Zainizan Sahdan, Nafarizal Nayan, Samsul Haimi Dahlan, Mahdi Ezwan Mahmoud, Uda Hashim

.
Material Technology Group Nuclear Agency of Malaysia.
Microelectronic and Nanotechnology-Shamsuddin Research Centre.
Universiti Malaysia Perlis.

DOI: 10.4236/ampc.2012.24B005                

Abstract

This paper presents the optimization process in sol-gel technique to synthesize Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) thin films using in-house Nano-TiO₂ powder. Nano-TiO₂ powder was previously synthesized in our lab from ilmenite which is a tin mining byproduct using a modified hydrothermal method. By varying the mass of Nano-TiO₂ powder and acetic acid (catalyst) concentration in the sol-gel process, highly transparent TiO₂ thin films were obtained. The thin films were characterized by field effect scanning electron microscope (FESEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), thickness profiler, ultra-violet-visible spectrometer (UV-Vis) and current-voltage (I-V) measurement system. This paper also demonstrates the TiO₂ thin films are sensitive towards isopropanol (IPA) solution where the I-V response of the thin films changed sharply as IPA was dropped onto the thin film’s surface. The electrical property shows the thin film has potential applications for chemical sensors and solar cells.

Keywords

Titanium Dioxide; Ilmenite; Sol-gel; Tin mining

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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