Study on Ag modified TiO2 thin films grown by sputtering deposition using sintered target.

Ag modified thin films were grown by sputtering method using Ag/TiO2 target. Target was sintered using Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) method from Ag and TiO2 powders. Sputtering was done on glass at room temperature using RF magnetron sputter. After deposition samples were calcined at 300 °C, 400 °C and 500 °C in order to obtain tetragonal structure, particularly anatase. Crystal structure properties were investigated using X-ray Diffractometry (XRD). X-ray Photoelectron Spectrophotometer (XPS) was used to analyze chemical composition and ionic state of elements in deposited films. Optical properties of obtained films were determined by UV-visible absorbance spectrophotometer. It was found that 300 nm thick films calcined at 500 °C improved the photocatalytical properties for photodegradation of Rhodamine B (RhB). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]