Formation of inorganic nanocomposites by filling TiO2 nanopores with indium and antimony sulfide precursor aerosols

•Deposition of metal sulfides by ion layer gas reaction technique•Penetration and diffusion depend on precursor characteristics.•Pore transport described by Knudsen diffusion model•InCl3 precursor penetrates more than In(acac)3.

Nanocomposites of nanoporous-TiO2/In2S3 and np-TiO2/Sb2S3 were formed by deposition of In2S3 or Sb2S3 using spray ion layer gas reaction technique from their precursor solutions onto nanoporous TiO2 substrates at temperatures of 150, 175 and 200 °C. The least penetration of the precursor into np-TiO2 was achieved for np-TiO2/In2S3 nanocomposites from indium acetylacetonate salt. The deepest penetration was obtained for both np-TiO2/In2S3(Cl) and np-TiO2/Sb2S3 nanocomposites with effective diffusion coefficients of 3.3 × 10− 3 cm2/s and 3.2 × 10− 3 cm2/s, respectively. The transport of the precursors in np-TiO2 and the formation of different nanocomposites were described the regime of the Knudsen diffusion model.