TITLE:
Equilibrium State of Anatase to Rutile Transformation for Titanium Dioxide Film Prepared by Ultrasonic Spray Pyrolysis Technique
AUTHORS:
Ghassem Kavei, Auppatham Nakaruk, Charles Chris Sorrell
KEYWORDS:
Titanium Dioxide, Ultrasonic Spray Pyrolysis, Annealing Treatment, Phase Transformation, Focused Ion Beam (FIB)
JOURNAL NAME:
Materials Sciences and Applications,
Vol.2 No.6,
June
24,
2011
ABSTRACT: Titanium dioxide thin films were deposited on (0001) α-quartz substrate by spray pyrolysis method. The method which an aerosol of Titanium Butoxide, generated ultrasonically, was sprayed on the substrate at temperature of 400°C, kept at this temperature for periods of 3, 13, 19 and 39 hours. The developed films at a crystal phase correspond to the TiO2 anatase and rutile phases. Their surface roughness increased by annealing the samples at 600, 800 and 1000°C. Deposited film annealed at 1000°C showed preferable orientation in (110) direction. The crystal evolution and crystallographic properties of this material was studied by Lotgering method, X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The study revealed that the deposition process was nearly close to the classical Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD) technique that is generally employed to produce films with smooth surface and good crystalline properties with a thickness of about 1 µm, as measured by Focused Ion Beam.