Photocatalytic activity of al doped metal oxide thin films formed via atomic layer deposition (ALD) on glass fabrics

In this study, AZO and ATO films with different compositions were formed on the substrate material with high surface area by using the ALD method and the effects of different doped ratios and annealing on the photocatalytic activity were determined. Four different substrate materials (Si Wafer, Quartz, Cover Glass and Glass fabric) were used for the characterization and photocatalytic activity studies of the films. In order to determine the effect of the annealing process on the structure and performance of the produced film, two productions were made from each substrate and annealing was applied to one of them at 450 °C. In order to evaluate the effect of Al doped on the photocatalytic activity of ZnO and TiO2 ALD films, films were produced with four different doped ratios as 0%, 5%, 10% and 20%. In order to determine the photocatalytic activity, the approach of measuring the degradation of the methylene blue dyestuff under a solar simulator for four hours was preferred. The morphology of the AZO and ATO ALD thin films were analyzed with FESEM, XRD and XPS analyzes were performed to examine the crystal structure of the films, and UV-Vis and PL analyzes were performed to determine optical properties of the produced films. Among the produced films, the annealed 20% Al doped ZnO films showed the highest photocatalytic efficiency, only ZnO (0% AZO) coated films came right after that. 5% and 10% Al doped ZnO films showed weaker photocatalytic activity. This shows that after the doped ratio exceeds a certain value, it causes changes in the band structure of the AZO film. Only (annealed) TiO2 coated films showed the highest photocatalytic activity among ATO films. It was also determined that the doped of AlO2 did not have a positive effect on the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 films.