Preparation and Evaluation of TiO2 Nanoparticle Thin Films by Electrophoresis Deposition

Abstract

The transparency and uniformity of thin films of titanium oxide (TiO2) are important factors in determining the characteristics of photocatalysts and dye-sensitized solar cells. Synthesized TiO2 nanoparticles were deposited by constant-current electrophoresis deposition in ion-free water and ethanol. The number of cracks was reduced when ethanol was used instead of water. TiO2 nanoparticle thin films produced using a short deposition time had no apparent cracks and a high optical transparency. Moreover, thick TiO2 nanoparticle thin films, which have high optical trans-parency and no apparent cracks, could be deposited by repeating short-time deposition in ethanol.