Deposition of Visible Light-Active C-Doped Titania Films via Magnetron Sputtering Using CO₂ as a Source of Carbon

Doping of titanium dioxide with p-block elements is typically described as an efficient pathway for the enhancement of photocatalytic activity. However, the properties of the doped titania films depend greatly on the production method, source of doping, type of substrate, etc. The present work describes the use of pulsed direct current (pDC) magnetron sputtering for the deposition of carbon-doped titania coatings, using CO₂ as the source of carbon; ratios of O₂/CO₂ were varied through variations of CO₂ flow rates and oxygen flow control setpoints. Additionally, undoped Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) coatings were prepared under identical deposition conditions for comparison purposes. Coatings were post-deposition annealed at 873 K and analysed with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffreaction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The photocatalytic properties of the thin films were evaluated under ultraviolet (UV) and visible light irradiation using methylene blue and stearic acid decomposition tests. Photoinduced hydrophilicity was assessed through measurements of the water contact angle under UV and visible light irradiation. It was found that, though C-doping resulted in improved dye degradation compared to undoped TiO₂, the UV-induced photoactivity of Carbon-doped (C-doped) photocatalysts was lower for both model pollutants used.