Electronic properties of nanoporous TiO2 films investigated in real space by means of scanning tunnelling spectroscopy

Nanoporous TiO2 films with a thickness between 100 nm and 8 μm were studied by scanning tunnelling spectroscopy. The bias voltage of significantly increased differential conductivity, indicating the conduction and valence bands, was found to be strongly dependent on layer thickness and the underlying substrate material. This effect is traced back to the high resistivity of the oxide films and the formation of Schottky barriers at the TiO2-substrate contact. All films showed a strong hysteresis as a function of sweep direction of the bias voltage pointing towards the existence of a high number of localized electronic trap states. This effect is getting even more pronounced upon sample ageing. Laterally resolved measurements show that the major part of the surface exhibits similar I(V) characteristics with minor deviations, while smaller areas with significantly different response are identified. These areas are comparable in size to the individual crystals the material is composed of.