Undoped and Nb-doped TiO 2 thin films have been fabricated on glass substrate by RF magnetron sputtering. The morphologic, structural and surface composition of these films before and after annealing in different environments were investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM) imaging, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The XRD data reveal that the crystallinity is improved when the films are Nb-doped and annealed in H 2 environment. The TiO 2 thin films annealed in H 2 environment exhibit only the anatase phase. The XPS analysis of TiO 2 with Nb indicates the maximum shift in binding energy of the Ti 2p peak. A mechanism for the incorporation of Nb in the TiO 2 lattice has been proposed.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.