Surface property change of C doped TiO2 nano-pillars by O2 plasma treatment

J Nanosci Nanotechnol. 2011 Dec;11(12):10599-603. doi: 10.1166/jnn.2011.4072.

Abstract

TiO2 surface is led to super-hydrophilic surface by modifying to hydroxyl group. The super-hydrophilic surface can be applied to anti-fogging, because of preventing formation of water droplet on the surface. Super-hydrophilic coatings are made of metal oxides, polymers, or their mixtures. In this study, columnar-structured C doped TiO2 nano-pillars were grown on glass substrates by MOCVD method. For change of surface properties, grown columnar-structured C-TiO2 nano-pillars were treated by oxygen plasma. After oxygen plasma treatment, the surface property of grown columnar structured C-TiO2 nano-pillars changed from hydrophobic surface to super hydrophilic surface. For determination of this mechanism, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), FT-IR spectroscopy, and contact angle analyzer were employed.