title: An all low-temperature fabrication of macroporous, electrochemically addressable anatase thin films.
abstract: Macroporous TiO₂ (anatase) thin films are fabricated by an all low-temperature process in which substrates are dip-coated in suspensions of mixed anatase nanoparticles and polystyrene beads, and the templating agents are removed by ultraviolet (UV) irradiation at a temperature below 50 °C. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Raman spectroscopy show that the templating polymer beads are removed by UV irradiation combined with the photocatalytic activity of TiO₂. X-Ray diffraction reveals that nanoparticle growth is negligible in UV irradiated films, while nanoparticle size increases by almost 10 times in calcined films that are prepared for comparison. The macroporous films are prepared on FTO-(fluorine-doped tin oxide) coated glass and ITO (indium tin oxide) coated flexible plastics and thereby used as working electrodes. In both cases, the films are electrochemically addressable, and cyclic voltammetry is consistent with the response of bulk TiO₂ for calcined films and of nanoscale-TiO₂ for UV-irradiated films.
authors.affiliation: Justus-Liebig-Universität, Institute of Physical-Chemistry, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 58, D-35392, Giessen, Germany.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schröder
authors.forename: Sébastien
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sallard
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Böhm
authors.forename: Marcus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Einert
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Suchomski
authors.forename: Bernd M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Smarsly
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mutisya
authors.forename: Massimo F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Bertino
keywords: UV treatment; colloid dispersion; macroporous films; sol-gel processes; template synthesis