Preparation and Characterization of TiO2 Nanotube Arrays via Anodization of Titanium Films Deposited on FTO Conducting Glass at Room Temperature

Self-organized TiO₂ nanotube arrays with micro-scale length were prepared on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) conducting glass in NH₄F/glycerol electrolyte by electrochemical anodization of pure titanium films deposited by radio frequency magnetron sputtering (RFMS) at room temperature. The samples were characterized by means of field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and photoelectrochemistry methods. The results showed that Ti films prepared at the condition of Ar pressure 0.5 Pa, power 150 W, and 0.5 h at room temperature possessed the zone T model structure with good homogeneity and high denseness. When the anodization time was prolonged from 1 to 3 h at the voltage of 30 V, the pore diameter of TiO₂ nanotubes increased from 50 to 75 nm, and the length increased from 750 to 1100 nm and then gradually decreased to 800 nm, while their wall morphology changed from smooth to rough. Also with increasing the anodization voltage, the pore diameter became larger, and the remaining oxide layer reduced, which could be easily removed by ultrasonic-chemical cleaning in 0.05% (w, mass fraction) diluted HF solution. Moreover, the photocurrent response curves and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) results indicated that UV-illumination clearly enhanced the effective separation of the electron-hole pairs and the crystallized electrodes from the annealing treatment of as-anodized electrodes at 450 °C exhibited a better photoelectrochemical performance.