Dresden 2026 – scientific programme
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DS: Fachverband Dünne Schichten
DS 9: Thin Film Properties III: Oxides
DS 9.2: Talk
Tuesday, March 10, 2026, 14:15–14:30, REC/C213
Modification of crystal structure of TiO2 thin films for artificial photosynthesis — •Lauri Palmolahti — University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany — Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
Progressing climate change has created a need for carbon-neutral energy production methods, such as artificial photosynthesis. The corrosive nature of artificial photosynthesis requires the use of coatings to protect otherwise unstable photocatalytic materials. The crystallite structure and size significantly affect the protective properties and chemical stability of the thin film. In this work, the effect of defect composition in amorphous TiO2 thin films on vacuum annealing induced crystallization was studied. The chemical stability and protective properties of these crystallized films were then examined under conditions similar to those in artificial photosynthesis. The defect composition of the amorphous phase, such as Ti3+, O1−, and precursor traces, was tuned by changing the deposition parameters. The results showed that amorphous TiO2 thin films without Ti3+ defects crystallized into microcrystalline anatase, whereas a moderate number of these defects led to the formation of nanocrystalline rutile. An excessive number of defects resulted in a mixed amorphous–nanocrystalline rutile phase. Impedance spectroscopy and stability tests revealed that microcrystalline anatase was prone to grain boundary corrosion, whereas nanocrystalline rutile was chemically stable and retained its protective properties for extended periods of time, making it a suitable choice for protective coatings in artificial photosynthesis.
Keywords: Titanium dioxide; Crystallization; Artificial photosynthesis; Chemical stability