Study of effect annealing temperature on the structure, morphology and photocatalytic activity of Si doped TiO2 thin films deposited by electron beam evaporation

Transparent Si-doped TiO2 thin films (Si-TiO2) were deposited on quartz glasses using electron beam evaporation (EBE) and annealed at different temperature in an air atmosphere. The structure and morphology of these films were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman microscopy (Raman), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Meanwhile the photocatalytic activity of the films has also been evaluated on the basis of the degradation degree of rhodamine B in aqueous solution. Our experimental results suggest that the annealing temperature impact a strong effect on the structure, morphology and photocatalytic activity of Si-TiO2 thin films. Furthermore the enhanced thermal stability of Si-TiO2 films enabled them to elevate the phase transformation temperature of TiO2 from anatase to rutile and enhanced the photocatalytic efficiency.