Issue 1, 2002
From the journal:

Journal of Materials Chemistry

Jimmy C. Yu,*a   Jiaguo Yu,ab   Hung Yuk Tanga  and  Lizhi Zhanga  

* Corresponding authors

a Department of Chemistry and Materials Science Technology Research Centre, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong, China
E-mail: jimyu@cuhk.edu.hk
Fax: (852) 2603-5057

b State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, China

Abstract

The relationship between photoinduced hydrophilicity and surface microstructure of porous TiO2 thin films has been investigated. Porous TiO2 thin films on soda-lime glass were prepared by the sol–gel method from alkoxide solutions containing polyethylene glycol (PEG). These materials were characterised by atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and UV-Vis transmittance measurements. The larger the amount of PEG used in preparing the thin films, the larger was the pore size produced from the thermal decomposition of PEG. This generated also a relatively rough thin film surface with a strong affinity for hydroxyl groups. This study proves that suitable surface microstructures can enhance the photoinduced super-hydrophilic properties of porous TiO2 thin films and hinder the conversion from a hydrophilic to a hydrophobic state. Among the porous TiO2 thin films tested, the one with a PEG to TiO2 mass ratio of 12.5% exhibited the best photoinduced super-hydrophilic property and the slowest conversion rate from the hydrophilic to a hydrophobic state.

Graphical abstract: Effect of surface microstructure on the photoinduced hydrophilicity of porous TiO2 thin films

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Article information

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1039/B102909F
Article type
Paper
Submitted
30 Mar 2001
Accepted
03 Oct 2001
First published
23 Nov 2001

J. Mater. Chem., 2002,12, 81-85

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Effect of surface microstructure on the photoinduced hydrophilicity of porous TiO2 thin films

J. C. Yu, J. Yu, H. Y. Tang and L. Zhang, J. Mater. Chem., 2002, 12, 81 DOI: 10.1039/B102909F

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