TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER I...1
1. TiO2: a promising photocatalytic semiconductor for the next generation...3
2. Opportunities and challenges of TiO2 films deposited by atmospheric plasma...4
3. Aim of the research...6
4. References...7
CHAPTER II...11
1. Physical and chemical properties of TiO2...13
1.1 Introduction...13
1.2 Crystal structures of TiO2...14
1.3 Photocatalytic mechanism of TiO2...16
1.4 Modified TiO2 with enhanced photocatalytic performance...17
2. TiO2 thin films...27
2.1 Thin film nucleation and growth...27
2.2 Various methods for the TiO2 film deposition...28
2.2.1 Sol-gel method...29
2.2.2 Physical vapor deposition (PVD)...30
2.2.3 Chemical vapor deposition (CVD)...31
3. Synthesis of TiO2films by plasma enhanced CVD (PECVD)...32
3.1 Low pressure PECVD...32
3.2 Atmospheric pressure PECVD...33
4. Generation of atmospheric pressure DBD...35
4.1 Introduction...35
4.2 Physical principles of the DBD...36
4.3 Plasma chemistry...39
4.4 DBD applications in surface modification and thin film deposition...42
4.4.1 Surface treatment...43
4.4.2 Thin film deposition...43
CHAPTER III...65
1. Materials...67
2. Substrates...67
3. Experimental setup in this research...68
4. Diagnostics techniques...70
4.1 Plasma diagnostics...70
4.2 Sample characterization techniques...73
4.2.1 Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)...73
4.2.2 Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM)...75
4.2.3 X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS)...76
4.2.4 Time of Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy (ToF-SIMS)...78
4.2.5 Grazing Incidence X-Ray Diffraction (GIXRD)...78
4.2.6 Raman Spectroscopy...80
4.2.7 Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy...81
4.2.8 Surface profilometry...81
4.2.9 UV-vis Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy (DRS)...81
4.2.10 Photocatalytic activity evaluation...82
5. References...85
CHAPTER IV...89
1. Introduction...91
2. Experimental part...91
3. Results and Discussion...92
3.1 Electrical characterization of the plasma...92
3.2 Morphologies and phases characterization...93
3.3 Chemical composition of the coatings...97
3.4 Photocatalytic activity...99
4. Conclusion...101
5. References...102
CHAPTER V...105
2. Experimental details...107
3. Results and discussion...109
3.1 Morphology-controllable synthesis of TiO2 films...109
3.2 Structure properties of TiO2-I-x films...115
3.3 Photocatalytic activity...117 4. Conclusions...119 5. References...120 CHAPTER VI...125 1. Introduction...127 2. Experimental part...128
3. Results and discussion...128
5. References...139
CHAPTER VII...143
1. Conclusions...145