Effect of substrate temperature on structural properties and photocatalytic activity of TiO2 thin films

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) films with anatase structure were prepared on quartz glass substrates by pulse laser ablating titanium (99.99%) target under oxygen pressure of 10 Pa at substrate temperature of 500–800 °C. The structural properties of the films were characterized by X-ray diffractometry(XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS) and field emission scan electron microscopy(FESEM). The results show that, as the substrate temperature is increased from 600 °C to 800 °C, the anatase structure of the films changes from random growth to (211)-oriented growth. The absorption edge tested by UV-Vis Spectrometer has a blue shift. The photocatalytic activity of the films was tested on the degradation of methyl orange. It is found that the film with random growth structure exhibits better photo-degradation efficiency than that with (211)-oriented growth structure.