Preparation of nanometer-structured TiO2 thin films by sol-gel method

The transparent anatase TiO2 nanometer thin films were prepared by the sol-gel method on soda-lime glass. X-ray diffraction, thermal analysis and UV-visible spectrophotometer were used to analyze the formation of the phases. Only increasing the heat-treatment time, the average grain size has no obvious change. The mechanism of grain growth in TiO2 thin film is probably as follows : the grain of coating will become grain core later; TiO2 sol constantly deposited on the surface of TiO2 grain and formed membrane with increasing of coating cycle times; TiO2 grain in the film grow steadily.