Band gap tuning in nanoporous TiO2-ZrO2 hybrid thin films

Nanoporous TiO2 and ZrO2 thin films were spin-coated using a surfactant-templated approach from Pluronic P123 (EO20PO70EO20) as the templating agent, titanium alkoxide (Ti(OC4H9)(4)) as the inorganic precursor, and butanol as a the solvent. The control of the electronic structure of TiO2 is crucial for its various applications. We found that the band gap of the hybrid nanoporous thin films can be easily tuned by adding an acetylaceton-estabilized Zr(OC4H9)(4) precursor to the precursor solution of Ti(OC4H9)(4). Pores with a diameter of 5 nm-10 nm were randomly dispersed and partially connected to each other inside the films. TiO2 and ZrO2 thin films have an anatase structure and tetragonal structure, respectively, while the TiO2-ZrO2 hybrid film exhibited no crystallinity. The refractive index was significantly changed by varying the atomic ratio of titanium to zirconium. The band gap for the nanoporous TiO2 was estimated to 3.43 eV and that for the TiO2-ZrO2 hybrid film was 3.61 eV.