Anatase thin films on glass from the chemical vapor deposition of titanium(IV) chloride and ethyl acetate

Thin (50-500 nm) films of TiO(2) may be deposited on glass substrates by the atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition (APCVD) reaction of TiCl(4) with ethyl acetate at 400600 C. The TiO(2) films are exclusively in the form of anatase, as established by Raman microscopy and glancing angle X-ray diffraction. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy gave a 1:2 Ti:O ratio with Ti 2P(3/2) at 458.6 eV and O 1s is at 530.6 eV. The water droplet contact angle drops from 60degrees to <5degrees on UV irradiation. The deposited films bring about the: complete photooxidation of a stearic acid overlayer following irradiation at 254 nm for 30 min. Both the drop in contact angle and the photooxidation described are critically important to the self-cleaning applications of anatase films on glass.