Change in titania structure from amorphousness to crystalline increasing photoinduced electron-transfer rate in dye-titania system

Thin titania gel films containing well-dispersed fluorescein dye were prepared by the sol-gel method and treated with steam to promote crystal growth of the titania particles. It is known that steam treatment converts the titania structure from amorphousness to crystalline. In the present study, such change is found to increase the rate of the photoinduced electron transfer from and to dispersed fluorescein dye molecules.