Notes on the photo-induced characteristics of transition metal-doped and undoped titanium dioxide thin films

S Kment; H Kmentova; P Kluson; J Krysa; Z Hubicka; V Cirkva; I Gregora; O Solcova; L Jastrabik

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2010.04.002

Notes on the photo-induced characteristics of transition metal-doped and undoped titanium dioxide thin films

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2010 Aug 1;348(1):198-205. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2010.04.002. Epub 2010 Apr 8.

Authors

S Kment¹, H Kmentova, P Kluson, J Krysa, Z Hubicka, V Cirkva, I Gregora, O Solcova, L Jastrabik

Affiliation

¹ Institute of Physics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Na Slovance 2, 182 21 Prague 8, Czech Republic. kment@fzu.cz

PMID: 20466384
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2010.04.002

Abstract

This study reports the preparation of thin nanoparticulate films of titanium dioxide and its modified version doped with a transition metal. The behavior of prepared films was described by means of their photocatalytic and photo-induced electrochemical properties. The TiO(2) and M/TiO(2) (M=Ag, Zr, Fe) thin films were produced via a standard sol-gel method using titanium n-butoxide, acetylacetone, and transition metal acetylacetonates as precursors. Prepared films were analyzed by a series of techniques involving XRD, Raman spectroscopy, SEM, AFM, and XPS. Their photocatalytic activity was monitored with the aid of decomposition of the model compound Rhodamine B in water. All films were then tested for their photo-induced electrochemical properties based on evaluation of polarization curves (photocurrents). The highest reaction rate constant (0.0101min(-1)), which was even higher than that for pure TiO(2), was obtained for the Ag/TiO(2) sample. The highest quantum yield of the charge collection was determined for the undoped TiO(2) film.