Determination of the band gap of TiO2–Al2O3 films as a function of processing parameters

In this work the study of band gap is based on the processing parameters and was calculated using the Indirect Transition Model. An experimental design was done, in order to have a sequence of 18 samples to analyze. The alumina doped titania thin films were prepared by combining electrophoretic deposition (EPD) with sputtering. The addition of alumina to the titania was with the purpose to reduce the band gap of the semiconductor. Several researches have tried to dope titania with other materials, because it has photocatalytic activity only in the UV spectrum. Then, reducing the band gap of the titania, it will have activity in the entire visible spectrum, and its applications increase considerably. Comparing with the adsorption line in the ultraviolet region for all the samples, the results show the adsorption edge for samples doped with fewer amounts of alumina shifts a little toward a lower energy region, leading to a band gap reduction.