Fotoaktywne powłoki dwutlenku tytanu osadzane reaktywną metodą gas impulse magnetron sputtering (GIMS)

Opracowanie ze środków MNiSW w ramach umowy 812/P-DUN/2016 na działalność upowszechniającą naukę (zadania 2017).

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Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is one of the most extensively studied metal oxides, also in a form of thin films. It is a polymorphous material known to exist in three crystalline forms, two tetragonal (anatase and rutile) and one orthorhombic (brookite). In the present paper, the way of deposition of thin films of rutile with the help of reactive magnetron sputtering in pure oxygen introduced to the vacuum chamber in the form of short gas pulses is presented. Compared to typical reactive magnetron sputtering, this novel deposition technique, known as gas impulse magnetron sputtering (GIMS), has an advantage of a minimal target poisoning and stechiometric TiO2. Properties of the films deposited on medical grade Ti6Al7Nb alloy were investigated with the use of SEM, EDS, GI-XRD and FTIR. Their photoactivity was determined by the measurements of water and diiodomethane wetting angles after UV light illumination of different duration, varying between 5 and 25 minutes. In addition, the bactericidal activity of the illuminated TiO2 films in contact with E. Coli bacteria was tested using a live-dead test. It has been found that 200-400nm thick stechiometric films of reactive GIMS deposited rutile and anatase are characterised by very fine nanostructure and strong photoactivity.