title: TiO2 thin films self-assembled with a partly fluorinated surfactant template.
abstract: New TiO(2) films have been self-assembled on solid substrate by dip-coating using TiCl(4) as the titanium source and the partly fluorinated surfactant F(CF(2))(8)C(2)H(4)(OC(2)H(4))(9)OH as the liquid crystal template. By control over the dip-withdrawal speed, film thicknesses from a minimum of 43 nm were produced with rms roughnesses of 0.5-0.7 nm. The films were characterized by X-ray reflectivity, grazing incidence small-angle X-ray scattering, atomic force microscopy, contact angle measurements, and Raman spectroscopy. Their GI-SAXS patterns are characteristic of a 2-D hexagonal structure in which tubular rods of the fluorinated surfactant are packed hexagonally and aligned parallel to the substrate. Reflectivity and contact angle measurements of the as-prepared film indicate that a low-density hydrophilic TiO(2) surface presents to the air.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Physique de l'Etat Condensé, UMR CNRS 6087, Université du Maine, 72085 Le Mans Cedex 09, France.
authors.forename: Mark J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Henderson
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zimny
authors.forename: Jean-Luc
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Blin
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Delorme
authors.forename: Jean-François
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Bardeau
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gibaud