Effects of the grain boundary on phase structure and surface morphology of TiO2 films prepared by MAO technology

Some porous titanium dioxide (TiO₂) films were prepared on flexible substrates by the method of micro‐arc oxidation (MAO) combined with magnetron sputtering (MS). The original material of MAO was Ti films prepared by MS, which was composed of columnar crystals with a diameter of less than 150 nm. The results indicated that the phase of the oxide films was mainly anatase structure, and the pore diameter of the films was about 100–300 nm. However, the phases of the oxide films prepared on Ti plates, which composed of equiaxed crystals with a diameter of 2–5 µm, were anatase and rutile structure. The pore diameter of those films was about 4–10 µm. It was suggested that the changes of the grain boundary structure of the original material could have a significant impact on the phase structure and surface morphology of the resultant TiOx films. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.