Preparation and Characterization of Ni-doped TiO2 Nanostructures for Surface Cleaning Applications

Abstract

In this work, pure and Ni-doped nanostructured titanium dioxide (TiO2) thin films were prepared by dc reactive magnetron sputtering technique onto glass substrates. The structural characteristics of these nanostructures were determined and analyzed. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) confirmed the formation of smooth and well-dispersed surfaces. The optical measurements in the spectral range 300-800 nm have confirmed that the optical energy gap of the pure and Ni-doped TiO2 prepared films were 3.3 and 2.95 eV, respectively. The contact angle measurements were carried out under air setting using the sessile drop method. The measured values of the contact angle of a water droplet on the surface before and after irradiation with UV light for 15 and 30 minutes show that the contact angle of a water droplet on the pure and Ni-doped TiO2 surfaces was decreased after 30 minutes of irradiated and the prepared samples show high hydrophilicity.