Photocatalytic properties of titanium dioxide sputtered on a nanostructured substrate

The effective one-step physical approach is demonstrated for the fabrication of anatase titanium dioxide nanotubes through r.f. magnetron sputtering of TiO2 on a highly ordered nanoporous anodic alumina template. The nanostructured TiO2 benefited from the combination of unique properties of both the sputtering technique that provided well-controlled environment for the fabrication of anatase phase TiO2 and the porous anodic alumina (PAA) that provided uniform and ordered nanopores. The photocatalytic properties of TiO2 films were characterized following the degradation of methylene blue molecules under UV light irradiation. The photocatalytic activity of the nanostructured TiO2 films has been found to be approximately twice higher in comparison with the flat TiO2 films fabricated at the same conditions.