Fabrication of TiO2‒Ag nanocomposite thin films via one-step gas-phase deposition

In this work, TiO2‒Ag nanocomposite thin films were fabricated for the first time via simultaneous plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition and physical vapor deposition of TiO2 and Ag nanoparticles in the gas-phase, respectively. The presence of Ag nanoparticles in the prepared nanocomposites has been confirmed using transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry techniques. The obtained electron microscopy images showed that the average size of TiO2‒Ag nanoparticles was larger than that of pristine TiO2. Moreover, the temperature of the anatase transformation into the rutile phase was decreased due to the presence of Ag nanoparticles in the TiO2 matrix, while the photocatalytic activity of the produced nanocomposite (estimated by studying the degradation of methylene blue aqueous solution under UV irradiation) was 35% greater than that of pristine TiO2. Therefore, the addition of Ag nanoparticles into the TiO2 matrix significantly affected the morphology, phase transformation temperature, and photocatalytic performance of the fabricated material.