Preparation and photo-induced superhydrophilicity of composite TiO2–SiO2–In2O3 thin film

In this work, TiO2–SiO2–In2O3 composite thin films on glass substrates were prepared by the sol–gel dip coating process. X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to evaluate the structural and chemical properties of the films. UV–vis spectrophotometer was used to measure the transmittance spectra of thin films. The water contact angle (WCA) of thin films during UV/vis irradiation and storage in a dark place was measured by a contact angle analyzer. The results indicated that fabrication of composite film has a significant effect on transmittance and superhydrophilicity of TiO2 films.