Preparation of Nanocrystalline Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) Thin Films by the Sol-Gel Dip Coating Method

Abstract

Titanium dioxide thin films have been prepared by the sol–gel dip-coating method on an ITO substrate. The samples obtained were characterized by different experimental techniques: XRD, Raman, FTIR, spectroscopy of the electrochemical potential and SEM. The X-ray diffraction results showed that the TiO2 thin film obtained for a layer, after a temperature of annealing (400°C) and at the speeds of steeping between 2 and 10 cm∙s-1 was amorphous, and transformed into anatase–brookite at 0.6 cm∙s-1 for 400°C. The data of Raman spectroscopy is in good agreement with the DRX results. Observation by scanning electron microscope shows that the coating was transparent and homogeneous without any visual cracking over a wide area, and the increase in the treatment temperature did not affect the uniformity of the film. The interface of our layers to behaved like a n-type semiconductor.