Structural distortion effect in the cobalt ions implanted TiO2 films

TiO2 thin films were prepared by direct current magnetron sputtering on glass substrates, then were implanted by cobalt ions, and finally annealed at 400 and 500 °C for 50 min, respectively. They were identified as an anatase structure by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images showed that the grain sizes of the films grow with increasing annealing temperature. The energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) measurements indicated that the ratio of the cobalt atoms number and total atoms number of cobalt and titanium in the Co–TiO2 films was about 2.51%, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results revealed that the cobalt existed in the films as Co2+. The element distribution of cobalt along cross-section of the films was studied by EDX, as the results showed that the cobalt diffused deeply into the films after annealing. The high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) images were used to affirm the anatase structure of the Co–TiO2 films, and edge dislocations were further found in the HRTEM images, which could be attributed to the effect of the implantation.