Fabrication of TiO₂‒Ag nanocomposite thin films via one-step gas-phase deposition

In this work, TiO₂‒Ag nanocomposite thin films were fabricated for the first time via simultaneous plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition and physical vapor deposition of TiO₂ and Ag nanoparticles in the gas-phase, respectively. The presence of Ag nanoparticles in the prepared nanocomposites has been confirmed using transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry techniques. The obtained electron microscopy images showed that the average size of TiO₂‒Ag nanoparticles was larger than that of pristine TiO₂. Moreover, the temperature of the anatase transformation into the rutile phase was decreased due to the presence of Ag nanoparticles in the TiO₂ matrix, while the photocatalytic activity of the produced nanocomposite (estimated by studying the degradation of methylene blue aqueous solution under UV irradiation) was 35% greater than that of pristine TiO₂. Therefore, the addition of Ag nanoparticles into the TiO₂ matrix significantly affected the morphology, phase transformation temperature, and photocatalytic performance of the fabricated material.