The effect of SiO2 addition on the grain size and photocatalytic activity of TiO2 thin films

The uniform transparent TiO2/SiO2 nanometer composite thin films were prepared via sol-gel method on the soda lime glass substrates, and were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), FTIR spectroscopy, UV-VIS spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and BET surface areas. It was found that the addition of SiO2 to TiO2 thin films could suppress the grain growth of TiO2 crystal and increase the hydroxyl content of the surface of TiO2 films. The photocatalytic activity of the as-prepared TiO2/SiO2 composite thin films increases for SiO2 content of less than 5 mol%.