Sputter deposition of high transparent TiO2−xNx/TiO2/ZnO layers on glass for development of photocatalytic self-cleaning application

In this study, TiO2−xNx/TiO2 double layers thin film was deposited on ZnO (80 nm thickness)/soda–lime glass substrate by a dc reactive magnetron sputtering. The TiO2 film was deposited under different total gas pressures of 1 Pa, 2 Pa, and 4 Pa with constant oxygen flow rate of 0.8 sccm. Then, the deposition was continued with various nitrogen flow rates of 0.4, 0.8, and 1.2 sccm in constant total gas pressure of 4 Pa. Post annealing was performed on as-deposited films at various annealing temperatures of 400, 500, and 600 °C in air atmosphere to achieve films crystallinity. The structure and morphology of deposited films were evaluated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The chemical composition of top layer doped by nitrogen was evaluated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Photocatalytic activity of samples was measured by degradation of Methylene Blue (MB) dye. The optical transmittance of the multilayer film was also measured using ultraviolet–visible light (UV–vis) spectrophotometer. The results showed that by nitrogen doping of a fraction (∼1/5) of TiO2 film thickness, the optical transmittance of TiO2−xNx/TiO2 film was compared with TiO2 thin film. Deposited films showed also good photocatalytic and hydrophilicity activity at visible light.