Tungsten Oxide and Tungsten Oxide‐Titania Thin Films Prepared by Aerosol‐Assisted Deposition – Use of Preformed Solid Nanoparticles

Aerosol‐assisted deposition (AAD) was used to deposit films of WO3 from a suspension of solid nanoparticulate WO3 in toluene. Titania films were deposited by the aerosol‐assisted chemical vapour deposition of [Ti(OiPr)4] in the presence of WO3 nanoparticles. The WO3 and TiO2 films exhibited photoactivity and photoinduced superhydrophilicity, further the titania films showed very unusual highly crenulated microstructures. These microstructures could not be obtained by sol‐gel, atmospheric pressure chemical vapour deposition or evaporation routes. Furthermore, the microstructures could not be obtained from [Ti(OiPr)4] in the absence of nanoparticulate WO3. (© Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2007)