Influence of Annealing Temperature on Structure and Photocatalytic Activity of TiO_2 Thin Films Prepared by DC Reactive Magnetron Sputtering Method

摘要

Transparent TiO_2 thin films were successfully prepared on high purity silica substrates by DC reactive magnetron sputtering method and annealed at different temperatures. The effects of the annealing temperature (300-600 ℃) on crystalline structure, morphology, and photocatalytic activity of the TiO_2 thin films were discussed. The photocatalytic activity of the films was evaluated by photodegradation of methylene blue solution. With increasing annealing temperature, the photocatalytic activity of the TiO_2 thin films gradually increased because of the improvement of crystallization of anatase TiO_2 thin films. At 500 ℃, the TiO_2 thin film shows the highest photocatalytic activity due to the improvement of crystallization of anatase TiO_2 thin films. When the annealing temperature increases to 600 ℃, the photocatalytic activity of thin film decreases owing to the formation of rutile phase and the decrease of surface area.