Tuning Effect of N2 on Atmospheric-Pressure Cold Plasma CVD of TiO2 Photocatalytic Films

To deposit TiO2 films through plasma CVD, the partial pressure ratio of O2 to TiCl4 should be greater than the stoichiometric ratio (pO2/pTiCl4 > 1). However, this may lead to the formation of powder instead of film on the substrate when using volume dielectric barrier discharge (volume-DBD) at atmospheric pressure. In this study, by adding N2 into the working gas Ar, TiO2 photocatalytic films were successfully fabricated in the presence of excess O2 (pO2/pTiCl4 = 2.6) by using a wire-to-plate atmospheric-pressure volume-DBD. The tuning effect of N2 on the deposition of TiO2 film was studied in detail. The results showed that by increasing the N2 content, the deposition rate and particle size of the TiO2 film were reduced, and its photocatalytic activity was enhanced. The tuning mechanism of N2 is further discussed.