Deposition of graded TiO2 films featured both hydrophobic and photo-induced hydrophilic properties

Graded TiO2 films were deposited on unheated glass substrates by using a twin dc magnetron sputtering system. The graded TiO2 films showed a highly polycrystalline structure of anatase with a little rutile phases revealed by X-ray diffraction spectra. The surface energy of the fresh and UV irradiated films were evaluated by water contact angle measurement. The results indicated that the water contact angle of the fresh graded TiO2 films was found within 100–1128. The films then became a highly hydrophilic surface with the water contact angle of almost zero under 60 min UV irradiation. The XPS spectrum of Ti 2p revealed that the graded TiO2 films became a stoichiometric titanium oxide layer near the surface, proving that titanium was fully oxidized. It was found that the surface OH group density depended on the substrates employed for given sputtering conditions. In addition, AFM images revealed a considerably rough surface of the graded films with RMS roughness of 12.6–14.5 nm. One can conclude that the unique properties of highly hydrophobicity and photo-induced hydrophilicity can be attributed to fully oxidized chemical composition and higher roughness on the film surface.