Preparation, characterization and photoluminescence properties of mesolamellar titanium dioxide films

Mesolamellar TiO2 films, through self-assembly of titanium alkoxide and surfactants, have been prepared on glass substrates at 50 degreesC in air and under hydrothermal conditions, respectively. The multilayer composite materials thus obtained are different from the well-known nanocrystalline TiO2 films. XRD and TEM results clearly show the formation of a lamellar structure and SEM results reveal that the lamellar TiO2 films grow on the glass substrates in a layer by layer fashion. The thickness of the TiO2 layer intercalated between the organic species is maintained around 1 nm, independent of the alkyl length of the surfactant used. Other techniques including IR, XPS and DR UV-vis spectroscopy were used to further characterize the nanostructured TiO2 films. Room temperature photoluminescence of multilayered TiO2 films is detectable with an excitation of 300 nm, which might arise from the interfacial effect between the titania layers and the surfactants.