Structural study of photoinduced hydrophilicity of titania nanosheet film

Synchrotron radiation in-plane X-ray diffraction was applied to titania nanosheet monolayer film to monitor surface structural change during conversion from hydrophobic to hydrophilic state induced by UV irradiation. Slight but significant expansion/contraction of two-dimensional lattice parameters occurred in synchrony with surface wettability switching, suggesting structural modification is associated with photoinduced hydrophilic conversion.