11.09.2018 SiO2 coating of TiO2 nanoparticles from DBD in a gaseous mixture of SiH4 and N2 Dipl.-Phys. Sebastian Dahle Institut für Energieforschung und Physikalische Technologien TU Clausthal
Motivation Photocatalytically active TiO2 nanoparticles, e.g. for protection against moss and algae But: phase transformation at 900°C Possible solution: protective SiO2 coating 1000°C TiO2 SiO2 / TiO2 SiO2 / TiO2 substrate TiO2 substrate F. Qi et. al., J. Nanoparticle Res. 13 (2011) 1325-1334
11.09.2018 Plasma treatment Dielectric Barrier Discharge alternating HV pulses peak voltage 11 kV repetition rate 10 kHz discharge gap 1 mm power density 1 W/cm² temp. increase < 10 K
Electron Spectroscopy X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) core level states EP = 1486,6 eV (Al Kα) information depth ~ 15 atom layers Ultraviolet Photoelectron Spectroscopy (UPS) valence band EP = 21,2 eV (HeI) information depth ~ 2-4 atom layers Metastable Induced Electron Spectroscopy (MIES) valence band EP = 19,8 eV (He*) information depth < 1 atom layer
Sample preparation TiO2 nanoparticle Degussa P25 deposited onto Mo washer as suspension in ethanol
SiO2 deposition process scheme 1 SiH4/N2 plasma O2 plasma air plasma TiO2 / Mo substrate Si3N4 / TiO2 / Mo substrate SiO2 / TiO2 / Mo substrate
XPS results for O2 plasma C1s N1s O1s Ti2p Si2p
MIES/UPS results for O2 plasma
AFM results for O2 plasma
Summary SiH4/N2 plasma: deposits non-stoichiometric Si3N4 film O2 plasma air plasma TiO2 / Mo substrate Si3N4 / TiO2 / Mo substrate SiO2 / TiO2 / Mo substrate SiH4/N2 plasma: deposits non-stoichiometric Si3N4 film TiO2 unaffected besides a few oxygen vacancies at the interface Cleaning effect from most atmospheric adsorbates Oxygen or air plasma: Transformation of the Si3N4 in nearly stoichiometric SiO2 Removal of residual carbon SiO2 film encloses clusters of P25 nanoparticles Conclusion: Effective method for SiO2 film deposition & easy to implement!
Acknowledgements M.Sc. Lienhard Wegewitz Prof. Alfred Weber Dipl.-Ing. Fei Qi Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) for financial support under project nos. MA 1893/18-1 and VI 359/9-1