Characterization of the structure, morphology, and optical properties of titanium dioxide thin film deposited by spray pyrolysis technique for self-cleaning glass

The research in material science has actively pursued the creation of self-cleaning materials, especially for windows. Titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) is considered a promising substance for developing hydrophilic self-cleaning surfaces due to its photocatalytic activity. In this research, TiO 2 nanoparticles were synthesized using TiCl 3 as the precursor and co-precipitation as the experimental method in order to obtain anatase phase. The nanoparticles, then, was deposited by spray pyrolysis technique with different spraying time; 1, 2, 3, and 4 minutes and different types of TiO 2 nanoparticles—synthesis and commercial—as the primary variations. TiO 2 thin film was formed using ethyl cellulose as binder and isopropyl alcohol as solvent. The synthesized TiO 2 nanoparticles and deposited thin film were, then, characterized using XRD, Maud software, UV-Visible Spectrophotometer, optical microscope, and SEM. The higher band gap energy value of TiO 2 thin films was obtained with the average of 3.746 eV and 3.744 eV for TI(S) and TI(C), respectively, as a result of ethyl cellulose composition on the thin film. The thin film was categorized as hydrophilic.