Acidic TiO2 solutions were prepared via sol-gel using hydrochloric acid (HCl) as catalyst for TiO2 coating deposition. The correlation between the HCl content and ageing time with the stability of the solutions was determined by controlling the content of HCl used (0.2, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.7 ml). The stability was evaluated by observing the pH and physical changes that occurred during 30 days of ageing time. The influence of HCl content on the morphology of TiO2 thin film is further studied by depositing the films on commercialized unglazed ceramic tiles via dip-coating technique. Results of the ageing experiment showed that the PH of the solutions was stable throughout the ageing period. However, significant physical changes occurred only during the first seven days of the ageing period. Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis disclosed that the TiO2 coatings were distributed unevenly on the substrate surface creating multilayers of coating. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) micrographs suggest that the TiO2 solution prepared using 0.5ml of HCl (pH 1.0 – 1.5) produces better TiO2 coating performance due to less amount of cracks and more homogeneous coating than other HCl content solutions.
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