Synthesis of Anatase Titania Nanostructures at Room Temperature by PECVD Technique

Anatase titania nanostructures have been synthesized at room temperature by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) process on silicon (100) substrates using titanium tetraisopropoxide [Ti(OC3H7)4, TTIP] vapor, argon and oxygen mixtures under various deposition pressures. The deposited titania has been characterized for its structural, morphological and chemical composition by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy recordings. With the variation of deposition pressure, titania assumes various nanostructures viz. nanocrystals, nanoparticles, noanorods and comb-like structure. EDX and FTIR measurements show that the deposited titania is of high chemical purity. The possible growth mechanisms for the observed titania nanostructures have been discussed.