Fabrication of titania nanocoatings on ZnS-type phosphors using titanium precursor modified by glacial acetic acid

Abstract In order to suppress fast degradation of ZnS-type phosphors applied in field emission displays (FEDs), the surface coating and encapsulation are expected to be an effective way. The titania nanocoatings are obtained by a sol–gel route using tetrabutyl titanate (TBT) as the precursor in this paper. With the addition of the glacial acetic acid (HAc), due to the formation of Ti(OC 4 H 9 ) x (Ac) 4 –  x ligand, the hydrolysis process is inhibited. When the molar ratio of HAc to TBT is 2, the appropriate gelation rate is obtained. The coating process is perhaps related to the electrostatic forces and chemical bonding between ZnS phosphor and Ti(OH) 2 (Ac) 2 ligand.