Characterization of TiO2 coatings prepared by a modified electric arc-physical vapour deposition system

TiO2 thin coatings were prepared, on various substrates, through evaporation of metallic titanium in an oxidizing atmosphere by modified electric arc-physical vapor deposition (EA-PVD). The coatings were characterized chemically (by means of XPS and SIMS) and from the structural point of view (by means of XRD and Raman spectroscopy), in order to understand the factors which lead to homogeneous coatings with high anatase content. The type of substrate is the main parameter that influences the crystal structure of the coatings: when stainless steel is used as substrate the coatings consist essentially of rutile, while on glass substrates coatings containing mainly anatase are obtained. The photocatalytic activity of the samples upon UVA irradiation was tested by using phenol as the target molecule. Phenol in the solution can be photocatalytically and rapidly degraded through the EA-PVD anatase TiO2 coatings.