Ion beam induced single phase nanocrystalline TiO2 formation

Single phase TiO2 nanostructures are fabricated by oxygen ion implantation (60 keV) at fluence ranging from 1×1016 ions/cm2 to 1×1017 ions/cm2 in titanium thin films deposited on fused silica substrate and subsequent thermal annealing in argon atmosphere. GAXRD and Raman spectroscopy study reveals formation of single rutile phases of TiO2. Particle size is found to vary from 29 nm to 35 nm, establishing nanostructure formation. Nanostructure formation is also confirmed by the quantum confinement effect manifested by the blueshift of the UV-vis absorption spectra. Photoluminescence spectra show peaks corresponding to TiO2 rutile phase and reveal the presence of oxygen defects due to implantation. The controlled synthesis of single phase nanostructure is attributed to ion induced defects and post-implantation annealing. It is observed that the size of the nanostructures formed is strongly dependent on the ion fluence.