Self-cleaning Properties of TiO₂-SiO₂-In₂O₃Nanocomposite Thin Film

Abstract

$TiO_2-SiO_2-In_2O_3$ nanocomposite thin film was deposited on the glass substrates using a dip coating technique. The morphology, surface composition, surface hydroxyl groups, photocatalytic activity and hydrophilic properties of the thin film were investigated by AFM, XPS, methyl orange decoloring rate and water contact angle measurements. The hydroxyl content for $TiO_2$, $TiO_2-SiO_2$ and $TiO_2-SiO_2-In_2O_3$ nanocomposite films was calculated to be 11.6, 17.1 and 20.7%, respectively. $TiO_2-SiO_2-In_2O_3$ film turned superhydrophilic after 180-min irradiation with respect to pure $TiO_2$ and $TiO_2-SiO_2$ thin films. The photocatalytic decomposition of methyl orange for $TiO_2$, $TiO_2-SiO_2$ and $TiO_2-SiO_2-In_2O_3$ thin films was measured as 38.19, 58.71 and 68.02%, respectively. The results indicated that $SiO_2$ and $In_2O_3$ had a significant effect on the hydrophilic, photocatalytic and self-cleaning properties of $TiO_2$ thin film.