Structural and photocatalytic study of titanium dioxide films deposited by DC sputtering

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) thin films were deposited by DC magnetron sputtering (DMS) using an orthogonal experimental design approach. The optimized parameters were investigated. At the optimized condition, TiO2 film was fabricated by the energy filtrating magnetron sputtering (EFMS) technique. The crystal structure and surface morphology of the film were determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM). The optical property was examined by a spectroscopic ellipsometer. The photocatalytic activity was tested by a UV–vis spectrophotometer, irradiated by the ultraviolet light. Results suggested that the TiO2 films were well crystallized of the anatase phase without subsequent annealing. TiO2 film deposited by the EFMS technique had a dense surface morphology consisting of smaller particles. Because of the smaller particles, larger contact area and higher band gap (3.40 eV) were generated. As a result, an improved degradation rate of rhodamine B at 0.00267 min−1 was obtained for the film prepared by the EFMS technique.