Nanostructure and photocatalytic properties of TiO2 films deposited at low temperature by pulsed PECVD

Abstract The nanostructure and photocatalytic properties of TiO 2 thin films deposited by PECVD on silicon substrates were investigated. The films were grown at low temperature ( 2 layers containing a high amount of anatase were grown at substrate temperatures less than 100 °C corresponding to DC ≥ 40%, then the crystallization was hindered with the decrease of DC, even inducing amorphous films for DC ≤ 10%. Moreover, the films deposited below 100 °C with deposition conditions where 50% ≤ DC ≤ 75% were shown to present a high photocatalytic activity, likely due to the presence of anatase crystalline nanocolumns at the surface.