Optically Transparent TiO2 and ZnO Photocatalytic Thin Films via Salicylate-Based Sol Formulations

Sol compositions for transparent TiO(2 )and ZnO photocatalytic thin film deposition are of interest for the wet-chemical fabrication of self-cleaning coatings. The choice of stabilizing agent is crucial for the sol film-forming properties, with acetylacetone and monoethanolamine conventionally employed for TiO2 and ZnO deposition sols, respectively. Salicylic acid (SA), capable of chelating both Ti(IV) and Zn(II) precursors, remains underexplored. This study presents novel SA-based sol formulations for the deposition of both TiO2 and ZnO films, based on titanium tetraisopropoxide (TTIP) and zinc acetate dihydrate (ZAD) precursors, in a fixed 1:3 (TTIP:SA) and 1:2 (ZAD:SA) ratio, and isopropanol solvent, varied across the 1:10 to 1:20 precursor-to-solvent ratio range. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy analysis and Density Functional Theory computations confirmed the formation of H2Ti[SA](3) and Zn[SA]2.2H(2 )O complexes. Scanning Electron Microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Ultraviolet-Visible spectroscopy were employed to study the structural and optical properties of the dip-coated films, revealing dense TiO2 (86-205 nm) and ZnO (35-90 nm) layers of thickness proportional to the salicylate concentration and transmittance in the 70-90% range. Liquid phase Methylene blue (MB) photooxidation experiments revealed that all films exhibit photocatalytic activity, with ZnO films being superior to TiO2 , with 2.288 vs. 0.366 nm h(-1) cm(-2 )MB removal rates.

Automated summary

This study presents the successful fabrication of transparent TiO2 and ZnO photocatalytic thin films using salicylic acid as a stabilizing agent. The results show that the ZnO films exhibit superior photocatalytic activity compared to the TiO2 films.