AVS 54th International Symposium | |
Plasma Science and Technology | Thursday Sessions |
Session PS1-ThM |
Session: | Plasma-Surface Interactions II |
Presenter: | D.J.V. Pulsipher, Colorado State University |
Authors: | D.J.V. Pulsipher, Colorado State University E.R. Fisher, Colorado State University |
Correspondent: | Click to Email |
Plasma surface modification can be effective in permanently modifying inorganic nanosurfaces. Particularly, mesoporous films formed from TiO2 nanoparticles are interesting candidates for modification due to their important surface states needed for photovoltaic and photocatalytic applications. Plasma processing offers the opportunity of selectively modifying surface states to facilitate their investigation. Electron trap states in TiO2-based devices, which are predominately located on TiO2 particle surfaces,1 can be detrimental in photovoltaic devices or beneficial in photocatalytic devices; consequently, controlling the quantity of these surface states by learning what causes and affects them will lead to more efficient devices. Here, low temperature inductively coupled plasmas are used to modify the surfaces of mesoporous TiO2 films. Precursor gases such as O2, H2O, and H2 have been used. Film surface states were primarily monitored by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and photoluminescence (PL). The binding energy of a second O1s peak in the XPS spectra increases for increasing O2 plasma powers in the range of 75-225 Watts, and the modified films have at least a 6% increase in surface altering oxygen sites which persisted for more than 6 months. PL results suggest2 a decreased density of surface traps in oxygenated films.
1 N. Kopidakis, N. R. Neale, K. Zhu, J. van de Lagemaat,A. J. Frank, J Appl. Phys. Lett. 87, 202106.1 (2005).
2 D. Zhang, J. A. Downing, F. J. Knorr, J. L. McHale, J. Phys. Chem. B 110, 21890 (2006).