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Dye degradation studies of Mo‐doped TiO 2 thin films developed by reactive sputtering
Author(s) -
Sreedhar M.,
Brijitta J.,
Reddy I. Neelakanta,
Cho Migyung,
Shim Jaesool,
Bera Parthasarathi,
Joshi Bhava.,
Yoon Sam S.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
surface and interface analysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.52
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1096-9918
pISSN - 0142-2421
DOI - 10.1002/sia.6355
Subject(s) - x ray photoelectron spectroscopy , anatase , materials science , sputtering , analytical chemistry (journal) , thin film , dopant , scanning electron microscope , sputter deposition , silicon , band gap , photocatalysis , doping , chemical engineering , chemistry , nanotechnology , optoelectronics , biochemistry , chromatography , engineering , composite material , catalysis
TiO 2 thin films with various Mo concentrations have been deposited on glass and n‐type silicon (100) substrates by this radio‐frequency (RF) reactive magnetron sputtering at 400°C substrate temperature. The crystal structure, surface morphology, composition, and elemental oxidation states of the films have been analyzed by using X‐ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, respectively. Ultraviolet‐visible spectroscopy has been used to investigate the degradation, transmittance, and absorption properties of doped and undoped TiO 2 films. The photocatalytic degradation activity of the films was evaluated by using methylene blue under a light intensity of 100 mW cm −2 . The X‐ray diffraction patterns show the presence of anatase phase of TiO 2 in the developed films. X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies have confirmed that Mo is present only as Mo 6+ ions in all films. The Mo/TiO 2 band gap decreases from ~3.3 to 3.1 eV with increasing Mo dopant concentrations. Dye degradation of ~60% is observed in Mo/TiO 2 samples, which is much higher than that of pure TiO 2 .