Phase transformation at the surface of TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> single crystal irradiated by femtosecond laser pulse

Phase transformation of a titanium oxide crystal irradiated by a femtosecond laser from rutile to anatase was studied by Raman spectroscopy. In the case of the high temperature phase of TiO₂ single crystal rutile, irradiated by the 120 fs, 800 nm, 250 kHz femtosecond laser with an average power of 300 mW for a short time, the intensity of Raman active mode E_g (446 cm^-1) of TiO₂ would decrease, while that of A_1g (611 cm^-1) increased, which indicated the color-center-defect-cluster was formed. After the longer irradiation time (less than 600 s), four new Raman active modes would occur, so a part of rutile in the irradiated region was transformed into anatase phase. As the irradiation time increased, the component of anatase increased to a constant, while that of rutile decreased. By this means, we can selectively induce anatase on the rutile surface through controlling the femtosecond laser exposure region. We suggest that this technique can be applied to fabricate micro patterns of anatase. PACS 52.38.Dx; 36.20.Ng; 36.40.Ei; 42.62.-b; 42.65.Dr     

飞秒强激光对二氧化钛金红石晶体相变的影响

该文章报道了利用显微激光拉曼光谱仪研究近红外飞秒强激光脉冲诱导二氧化钛金红石单晶所引起的相变.实验辐照时间为60s,当激光辐照平均功率增加时,锐钛矿相的拉曼振动模式强度增强,金红石相的拉曼振动模式强度减弱.通过金红石相和锐钛矿相粉体等拉曼光谱的实验,肯定了随着辐照激光功率的增大,.可以通过拉曼光谱中锐钛矿A1g B1g(515 cm-1)振动模式标志峰和金红石相Eg(445 cm-1)振动标志峰分别对应面积的比判断其相变量.     

Laser-induced crystalline phase transition from rutile to anatase of niobium doped TiO2

The investigation of the laser-induced crystalline phase transition of niobium doped TiO₂ single crystal is discussed in this paper. The TiO₂ single crystal was studied by using Raman spectroscopy and electron backscatter diffraction before and after irradiation by 266?nm?ns laser at the threshold intensity of 56?MW/cm². Experimental results show an evidence of anatase phase formation from rutile single crystal. Moreover, the analysis of the experimentally obtained and calculated crystallographic texture indicates that the converted TiO₂ layer has a polycrystalline structure with the preferred orientations. According to the Raman spectroscopy the amount of anatase phase increases with the number of laser pulses indicating the dose-dependent conversion process.     

The application of Raman and anti-stokes Raman spectroscopy for in situ monitoring of structural changes in laser irradiated titanium dioxide materials

The use of Raman and anti-stokes Raman spectroscopy to investigate the effect of exposure to high power laser radiation on the crystalline phases of TiO₂ has been investigated. Measurement of the changes, over several time integrals, in the Raman and anti-stokes Raman of TiO₂ spectra with exposure to laser radiation is reported. Raman and anti-stokes Raman provide detail on both the structure and the kinetic process of changes in crystalline phases in the titania material. The effect of laser exposure resulted in the generation of increasing amounts of the rutile crystalline phase from the anatase crystalline phase during exposure. The Raman spectra displayed bands at 144 cm⁻¹ (A1g), 197 cm⁻¹ (Eg), 398 cm⁻¹ (B1g), 515 cm⁻¹ (A1g), and 640 cm⁻¹ (Eg) assigned to anatase which were replaced by bands at 143 cm⁻¹ (B1g), 235 cm⁻¹ (2 phonon process), 448 cm⁻¹ (Eg) and 612 cm⁻¹ (A1g) which were assigned to rutile. This indicated that laser irradiation of TiO₂ changes the crystalline phase from anatase to rutile. Raman and anti-stokes Raman are highly sensitive to the crystalline forms of TiO₂ and allow characterisation of the effect of laser irradiation upon TiO₂. This technique would also be applicable as an in situ method for monitoring changes during the laser irradiation process.     

Structural study of TiO2 thin films by micro-Raman spectroscopy

The Raman spectroscopy method was used for structural characterization of TiO₂ thin films prepared by atomic layer deposition (ALD) and pulsed laser deposition (PLD) on fused silica and single-crystal silicon and sapphire substrates. Using ALD, anatase thin films were grown on silica and silicon substrates at temperatures 125–425 °C. At higher deposition temperatures, mixed anatase and rutile phases grew on these substrates. Post-growth annealing resulted in anatase-to-rutile phase transitions at 750 °C in the case of pure anatase films. The films that contained chlorine residues and were amorphous in their as-grown stage transformed into anatase phase at 400 °C and retained this phase even after annealing at 900 °C. On single crystal sapphire substrates, phase-pure rutile films were obtained by ALD at 425 °C and higher temperatures without additional annealing. Thin films that predominantly contained brookite phase were grown by PLD on silica substrates using rutile as a starting material.     

Maintaining particle size in the transformation of anatase to rutile titania nanostructures

We study the temperature-dependent transformation of two distinctly synthesized TiO₂ nanoparticles from the anatase to the rutile phase. These studies are carried out over the temperature range extending from room temperature to an excess of 800 °C where the anatase to rutile conversion is found to occur. Results obtained for both a sol-gel-generated nanocolloid (3-20 nm) and a sol-gel-generated micelle nanostructure (∼40 nm) are evaluated. While the TiO₂ nanocolloid structures aggregate to form larger crystallites as a function of increasing temperature with sizes comparable to the sol-gel-generated micelle structures, the resulting anatase crystallites, which are of a diameter 40-50 nm, appear to transform to comparable or slightly smaller rutile structures at 800 °C. This is in contrast to the transformation to larger rutile structures, observed for larger anatase particles. The importance of kinetic effects is considered as it enhances the rate of anatase to rutile conversion. These characteristics are established using a combination of Raman spectroscopic, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy. The relative playoffs of the Raman and X-ray diffraction techniques are considered as they are used for the analysis of particles at the nanoscale, especially when phase transformations are evaluated.     

Optical investigation on sulfur-doping effects in titanium dioxide nanoparticles

The sulfur-doping (S-doping) effects in TiO₂ nanoparticles are investigated by means of Raman spectroscopy and UV–Vis spectroscopy with different S-doping levels (10 and 50%). Raman spectra indicate that the rutile and anatase phases dominate for the low S-doped (10%) and high S-doped (50%) TiO₂ nanoparticles, respectively. The variation of phase with different S-doping levels has been ascribed to the different S-doping processes into TiO₂ nanoparticles. In addition, an extra absorption band is observed in both the S-doped TiO₂ nanoparticles. With increasing S-doping level from 10 to 50%, the extra absorption band shows a blue-shift from 470 to 445 nm, which may be ascribed to the variation of phase from rutile to anatase for TiO₂.     

Effect of Nb doping on morphology,crystal structure,optical band gap energy of TiO2 thin films

Nb–TiO₂ nanofibers and thin films were prepared using a sol–gel derived electrospinning and spin coating, respectively, by varying the Nb/Ti molar ratios from 0 to 0.59 to investigate the effect of Nb doping on morphology, crystal structure, and optical band gap energy of Nb–TiO₂. XRD results indicated that Nb–TiO₂ is composed of anatase and rutile phases as a function of Nb/Ti molar ratio. As the Nb/Ti molar ratio rose, the anatase to rutile phase transformation and the reduction in crystallite size occurred. The band gap energy of Nb–TiO₂ was changed from 3.25 eV to 2.87 eV when the anatase phase was transformed to rutile phase with increasing the Nb doping. Experimental results indicated that the Nb doping was mainly attributed to the morphology, the crystal structure, the optical band gap energy of Nb–TiO₂, and the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue.     

Analyses of surface coloration on TiO2 film irradiated with excimer laser

TiO₂ film of around 850 nm in thickness was deposited on a soda-lime glass by PVD sputtering and irradiated using one pulse of krypton-fluorine (KrF) excimer laser (wavelength of 248 nm and pulse duration of 25 ns) with varying fluence. The color of the irradiated area became darker with increasing laser fluence. Irradiated surfaces were characterized using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy. Surface undergoes thermal annealing at low laser fluence of 400 and 590 mJ/cm². Microcracks at medium laser fluence of 1000 mJ/cm² are attributed to surface melting and solidification. Hydrodynamic ablation is proposed to explain the formation of micropores and networks at higher laser fluence of 1100 and 1200 mJ/cm². The darkening effect is explained in terms of trapping of light in the surface defects formed rather than anatase to rutile phase transformation as reported by others. Controlled darkening of TiO₂ film might be used for adjustable filters.     

Investigation on SERS of different phase structure TiO2 nanoparticles

In this paper, anatase and rutile TiO₂ nanoparticles as well as their mixed crystal phase structure TiO₂ nanoparticles were synthesized by a sol‐hydrothermal method, and were served as active substrates for surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) study. The results show that the 4‐mercaptobenzoic acid probe molecules exhibit different degree SERS enhancements on the surface of different phase structure TiO₂ nanoparticles. The mixed crystal structure TiO₂ with an appropriate proportion of anatase and rutile phase is favourable to SERS enhancement of adsorbed molecules. These are mainly attributed to the contributions of the TiO₂‐to‐molecule charge transfer mechanism and the mixed crystal effect. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Silver-Doping Induced Lattice Distortion in TiO2 Nanoparticles

The Ag-doping effects on Ti02 nanoparticles are investigated by means of x-ray diffraction （XRD） and Raman scattering spectroscopy. XRD and Raman results indicate that Ag-doping stabilizes the rutile phase in TiO2. We find an Ag-doping induced lattice expansion in both anatase and rutile phases. The Ag-doping has different influences on the lattice distortion for anatase and rutile phases, that is, the e/a-value for the anatase phase decreases with 0.5% Ag-doping and then increases with 1~ Ag-doping while that for the rutile phase shows a gradual increase with increasing Ag-doping. We have ascribed the different variations of lattice distortion due to Ag-doping to the change of interracial interaction between the anatase and rutile phases induced by different Ag concentrations.     

飞秒激光诱导二氧化钛金红石单晶相变的拉曼光谱研究

利用显微拉曼光谱仪研究了近红外飞秒激光脉冲诱导二氧化钛金红石单晶所引起的相变。实验发现当激光的平均功率为300 mW时,随着辐照时间的增加,金红石相的Eg模式强度增强,而A1g模式强度减弱,由此得出激光诱导晶体产生了色心;辐照时间为10 s时,锐钛矿相出现;并且随着辐照时间的增加,锐钛矿相的拉曼振动模式强度增强,金红石相的减弱。然而当辐照时间确定为1/63 s时,随着激光功率的增加,金红石Eg模式强度与A1g模式强度的比值增加,而没有锐钛矿相出现。     

Structural properties of TiO2 nanocrystallites condensed in vapor-phase for photocatalyst applications

We have synthesized titanium dioxide (TiO₂) nanocrystallites by pulsed laser ablation (PLA) in oxygen (O₂) background gas for photocatalyst applications. Varying O₂ background gas pressure \( \left( {P_{{{\text{O}}_{ 2} }} } \right) \) or substrate target distance (D _TS), it was possible to change weight fraction of anatase phase in the anatase/rutile mixture from 0.2 to 1.0. Porosity of the deposited TiO₂ films increased with increasing \( \left( {P_{{{\text{O}}_{ 2} }} } \right) \) and D _TS. Relation between the process parameters and the formed crystal phases was explained from the point of cooling process in vapor-phase. Furthermore, rapid thermal annealing (RTA) was performed as post-annealing, suppressing sintering of the nanocrystallites. Photocatalytic activities of the TiO₂ nanocrystallites depended on the RTA temperature and following crystallinity restoring as well as the crystal phase: anatase or rutile.     

Observation of carbon‐facilitated phase transformation of titanium dioxide forming mixed‐phase titania by confocal Raman microscopy

Confocal Raman microscopy, a relatively new and advanced technique, is found to be suitable for imaging the chemical morphology below the submicrometer scale. It has been employed to probe the phase transformation of carbon‐containing titania (TiO₂) nanopowder and titania thin film subjected to laser annealing. The observation of phase transformation from the anatase phase to the rutile phase at high laser power annealing is attributed to carbon inclusion inside or on the surface of titania. Upon annealing, carbon could react with the oxygen of titania and create oxygen vacancies favoring the transformation from the anatase to the rutile phase. This study provides evidence for the carbon‐assisted phase transformation for creating carbon‐containing mixed‐phase titanium dioxide by laser annealing. We explicitly focus on the presence of carbon in the phase transformation of TiO₂ using confocal Raman microscopy. In all of the investigated samples, mixed anatase/rutile phases with carbon specifically was found at the rutile site. X‐ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy‐dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) studies have been performed in addition to Raman mapping to verify the mixed‐phase titania formation. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Optical properties of anatase and rutile titanium dioxide: Ab initio calculations for pure and anion-doped material

The optical properties of rutile and anatase titanium dioxide (TiO₂) are calculated from the imaginary part of the dielectric function using pseudopotential density functional method within its generalized gradient approximation (GGA) and a scissors approximation. The fundamental absorption edges calculated for the unit cell of both rutile and anatase are consistent with experimentally reported results of single crystal rutile and anatase TiO₂ and with previous theoretical calculations. A significant optical anisotropy is observed in the anatase structure which holds promise for investigating the band gap modification with better visible-light response and provides a reliable foundation for addressing the effect of impurities on the fundamental absorption edge/band gap of anatase TiO₂. Further calculations on the electronic structure and the optical properties of C-, N-, and S-doped anatase TiO₂ are performed. The results are analyzed and discussed in terms of optical anisotropy and scissors approximations.     

Preparation of F-doped titania nanoparticles with a highly thermally stable anatase phase by alcoholysis of TiCl4

Pure anatase is a metastable phase and inclined to (transform) be transformed into rutile structure under heating over than 500 °C, which limits its suitability for high-temperature applications. Hitherto much research efforts have been made to increase the stability temperature of anatase structure. However, metallic doping usually introduced metallic oxides into titania at high temperature, and many nonmetallic doping are not competent for increasing the stability temperature of anatase structure up to 900 °C. In this study, F-doped anatase TiO₂ nanoparticles were conveniently prepared via the alcoholysis of TiCl₄ and the as-prepared product shows very high stability temperature up to 1000 °C before being transformed into rutile structure phase. On the basis of XPS results of F-doped titania annealed at different temperature, it is learned that the F atoms were anchored on the crystal planes of anatase in favor of decreasing the energy faces of anatase and stabilizing the anatase structure till annealed at 1300 °C all the anatase were transformed into rutile phase.     

Investigation of structural transformations in nanophase titanium dioxide by Raman spectroscopy

2 ) prepared by a colloidal chemistry method. The evolution of the anatase phase upon annealing was characterized by frequency downshift, intensity increase, and linewidth sharpening of the lowest-frequency E_g mode. The rutile phase was shown to be stabilized at temperatures below 350 °C and was postulated to reside in the surface region of the nanophase. The beginning and ending temperatures for the anatase–rutile transformation in the nanophase were found to be lower than those in single crystals or polycrystalline powders. The microscopic mechanism of the phase transformation was analyzed and the surface effect was suggested. An anomalous phenomenon of amorphization was also detected at the end of the anatase–rutile transformation in the nanophase TiO₂. Received: 5 November 1997/Accepted: 6 November 1997     

Structural characterizations of sol–gel synthesized TiO2 and Ce/TiO2 nanostructures

Mixed phase TiO₂ and Ce/TiO₂ samples were synthesized by a sol–gel method using different hydrolysis conditions. In pure TiO₂ samples, traditional X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Ti K-edge synchrotron X-ray absorption near edge structures (XANES) independently revealed their anatase/rutile phase ratios. XANES results further revealed a substantial amount of Ti atoms existed in other forms beside anatase and rutile TiO₂ in the sample synthesized by the low hydrolysis condition. An increase in the extent of the hydrolysis during the synthesis leads to an increased rutile ratio and a reduction in other forms. In Ce/TiO₂ samples, the crystal sizes were too small for XRD characterization. Only XANES could be used to characterize their phase ratios. It is found that adding Ce impedes rutile formation; leading to increased anatase ratio. The difference in the fundamental aspects of XRD and XANES techniques in providing the phase ratios is discussed.     

Excimer laser processing as a tool for photocatalytic design of sol-gel TiO2 thin films

Nanostructured sol-gel TiO₂ thin films spin coated on silicate glass plates are subjected to excimer (KrF^*) pulsed laser irradiation in order to tailor their structure and photocatalytic properties. The surface morphology of virgin and laser-processed films are followed applying electron optical imaging and atomic force microscopy. The evolution of the surface roughness and pore formation are shown to be accompanied by optical absorption edge shift to infrared wavelength range. Conventional X-ray diffraction analysis and high-resolution transmission electron imaging are applied in order to obtain information on the phase composition. Co-existence of amorphous and anatase TiO₂ phases in nonirradiated sol-gel films is found. It is established that after laser processing the most intense XRD anatase peak is shifted to lower 2θ range. The analysis of high-resolution transmission electron images of film profiles evidences for the laser induced phase transitions. Formation of rutile and brookite TiO₂ accompanied by evolution of oxygen deficient Ti_nO_2n−1 phases are identified in the subsurface region. The contribution of laser processing for increasing the photocatalytic efficiency of laser-modified films toward the oxidation of methylene blue water solution is demonstrated. The results obtained reveal a novel-processing route for designing sol-gel titania films with improved photocatalytical activity.     

Solar light decomposition of DFP on the surface of anatase and rutile TiO2 prepared by hydrothermal treatment of microemulsions

The photocatalytic decomposition of diisopropylfluorophosphate (DFP) over nanostructured anatase and rutile TiO₂ powder was investigated by FTIR and XPS. Upon irradiation with artificial solar light DFP decomposed on both polymorphs as evidenced by FTIR. For both crystalline structures acetone and subsequently coordinated formate and carbonate were observed on the surface during the photocatalytic reaction as the isopropyl groups dissociated from DFP. XPS revealed that small amounts of phosphates and inorganic fluoride (TiF) gradually built up on both TiO₂ surfaces, while organic F was present only on the rutile phase. From repeated cycles of intermittent DFP adsorption and irradiation measurements, the decomposition rates and formation of residuals on the surface were deduced. It was found that the overall oxidation yield is higher on anatase than rutile. The oxidation rate decreases with increasing irradiation time, an effect that is more pronounced on rutile. We find that both the difference between the polymorphs and the initial decrease of the oxidation yield can largely be explained by variations in surface area rather than poisoning by PO_x or F species. In particular, we observe a dramatic decrease of the specific area of rutile as a function of photocatalytic oxidation cycle.