Fabrication of Functional Super-Hydrophilic TiO2 Thin Film for pH Detection

Abstract

A super-hydrophilic pH-sensitive electrode with a porous TiO2 thin film is proposed in this work and fabricated using the chemical etching method. In total, 30 groups of porous TiO2 thin film were obtained by immersing a Ti sheet in NaOH, with the solution concentration ranging from 0.5–4 M and the reaction time ranging from 15–240 min. SEM, XRD, XPS, and a contact angle meter were used to investigate the influence of the chemical etching parameters on the morphology, composition, and wettability of the fabricated electrodes. The chemical etching parameters were found to have a significant influence on the specific surface area and the component of the films, which strongly affected the wettability and pH sensing characteristics of the electrodes. The electrode obtained with a solution concentration of 1 M and reaction time of 120 min is the ideal product because of its excellent wettability, with a contact angle of 5.46°, and good pH sensing characteristics in pH buffer solutions. The electrode also showed good stability regarding its wettability and pH sensing properties during storage and utilization.