title: Photoinduced superhydrophilicity of TiO2thin film with hierarchical Cu doping.
abstract: Hydrophilic Cu-TiO2thin films with a gradient in the Cu concentration were prepared on glass by layer-by-layer dip-coating from TiO2precursors. The effects of the Cu doping on the structure and properties of TiO2self-cleaning thin films are discussed. The Cu gradient markedly affects the hydrophilicity of the films, with the water contact angle significantly reduced compared with those of the pure or uniformly doped TiO2thin films. This enhanced hydrophilicity is explained by the more efficient absorption of the solar light and by the reduced recombination of photoexcited electrons and holes in the TiO2films containing a gradient of Cu dopants.
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin Institute of Urban Construction, Tianjin, 300384, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Zhifeng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin Institute of Urban Construction, Tianjin, 300384, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin Institute of Urban Construction, Tianjin, 300384, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xinli
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin Institute of Urban Construction, Tianjin, 300384, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yabin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin Institute of Urban Construction, Tianjin, 300384, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Zhichao
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin Institute of Urban Construction, Tianjin, 300384, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Chengcheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin Institute of Urban Construction, Tianjin, 300384, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ya
authors.affiliation: School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 639798, Singapore; Department of Materials, University of Oxford, Oxford OX13PH, UK.
authors.forename: Yizhong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Huang
keywords: Cu-TiO2; Doping; Film; Gradient; Hydrophilicity