2025/08/01 by Fella Esma Teniou, Mouloud Kihel, Mouna Saoudi +3
Energy · Materials Science · #TiO2 Photocatalysis and Solar Cells #Advanced Photocatalysis Techniques #Advanced Nanomaterials in Catalysis
paper · doi:10.1088/1402-4896/adf6f2
Abstract In this work, TiO 2 thin films were deposited using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) technique from a mixture of titanium tetraisopropoxide (TTIP) and oxygen. The effectiveness of the synthesized layers as a self-protective agent against Escherichia coli bacteria has been evaluated directly after plasma deposition, both with and without thermal treatments. Water contact angle (WCA) measurement, Fourier transforms infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and atomic force microscope (AFM) were employed to characterize the chemical structure and surface morphology of the elaborated biocide layers before and after thermal annealing. AFM images revealed the growth of well-defined nanostructure, maximizing the number of reactive surface atoms, which are essential for the film’s photocatalytic activity. WCA measurement showed that the film wettability changes from hydrophilic to super-hydrophilic after UV light exposure. A significant antibacterial activity of the TiO 2 thin films deposited via PECVD has been observed attributed to the combined effects of increased hydrophilicity and photocatalytic activity under UV light. Furthermore, the correlation between the biocide character and the films physicochemical properties have been investigated in this study.