Growth kinetics and cracking of liquid-phase-deposited anatase films

Anatase TiO2 films were deposited on glass slides by liquid phase deposition at temperatures of 50-200 degrees C. All films displayed preferential c-axis orientation, and morphological examinations revealed that the films underwent a transition from continuous nucleation to grain growth. Kinetic analysis by the Hancock and Sharp method revealed that film growth was controlled by a phase boundary process before transitioning to a diffusion-controlled process. This transition was responsible for the change to a more columnar film morphology. It was also observed that the films cracked during drying when the films were above the critical thickness. Nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms revealed that the films contained pores of 4 nm and smaller and support a capillary-stress-induced film-cracking mechanism. (c) 2007 The Electrochemical Society.