Nanocrystalline anatase thin films prepared from redispersible sol–gel powders

Transparent thin films of nanocrystalline anatase were obtained by dip-coating process using an ethanolic suspension of redispersed nanoparticles. This suspension was prepared by sol–gel route and their redispersability achieved by surface grafting of para-toluene–sulfonic acid and acetylacetone. The effects of the acetylacetone content on the powder redispersibility and on the structural evolution of films were determined by small angle X-ray scattering, X-ray reflectometry and X-ray diffraction for different firing temperatures. The results demonstrated that the porous structure of the studied films consist of agglomerates of primary particles with two levels of porosity. The control of the amount of capping ligand allows for a fine-tuning of the average pore size of the dried films. Upon increasing the firing temperature up to 500 °C, progressive increase in apparent density, average pore size of films and average crystallite size of powders were observed.