Deposition mechanism of anatase TiO

2
from an aqueous solution
and its site-selective deposition
Yoshitake Masuda
a,
*
, Won-Seon Seo
b
, Kunihito Koumoto
a
a
Department of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8603, Japan
b
Korea Institute of Ceramic Engineering and Technology (KICET), Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8603, Japan
Received 9 November 2003; received in revised form 18 February 2004; accepted 20 February 2004
Abstract
We have developed a novel method for site-selective deposition (SSD) of anatase TiO
2
thin films using a seed layer based on the
knowledge obtained by the evaluation of deposition mechanism. The nucleation and initial growth of anatase TiO
2
were found to be
accelerated on amorphous TiO
2
thin films compared with the substrates modified by silanol, amino, phenyl or octadecyl groups. Micropattern
having octadecyl group regions and amorphous TiO
2
regions was immersed in the aqueous solution at pH 1.5 to be used as a template for
SSD. Anatase TiO
2
was selectively deposited on amorphous TiO
2
regions to form a micropattern of anatase TiO
2
thin film in an aqueous
solution. Furthermore, deposition mechanism of anatase TiO
2
in an aqueous solution has been evaluated in detail. The adhesion of
homogeneously nucleated particles to the amino group surface by attractive electrostatic interaction caused rapid growth of TiO
2
thin films in
the supersaturated solution at pH 2.8. On the other hand, TiO
2
was deposited on self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) without the adhesion of
TiO
2
particles regardless of the type of SAM in the solution at pH 1.5 whose degree of supersaturation is low due to high concentration of H
+
.
Additionally, the orientation of films deposited on all SAMs was shown to be improved by enlarging the reaction time regardless of the kind
of SAM or pH. It is conjectured that the adsorption of anions to specific crystal planes caused c-axis orientation of anatase TiO
2
.
D 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Titanium dioxide; Self-assembled monolayer; Liquid phase deposition; Deposition mechanism; Site-selective deposition; Seed layer; Thin film
1. Introduction
Titanium dioxide (TiO
2
) thin films are of interest for
various applications including microelectronics [1], optical
cells [2], solar energy conversion [3], highly efficient
catalysts [4], microorganism photolysis [5], antifogging
and self-cleaning coatings [6], gratings [7], gate oxides in
metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistor (MOS-
FETs) [8.9], etc. Accordingly, various attempts have been
made to fabricate thin films and micropatterns of TiO
2
by
several methods, and in particular, to synthesize materials
and devices including TiO
2
thin films from an aqueous
solution through an environment-friendly synthesis process,
i.e., green chemistry.
Micropatterning of TiO
2
was attempted by a number of
methods [1014]. We realized site-selective deposition
(SSD) of amorphous TiO
2
to fabricate micropatterns of
TiO
2
thin films on self-assembled monolayers (SAMs)
[1214]. SAMs of octadecyltrichloro-silane (OTS) were
formed on Si wafers, and were modified by UV irradiation
using a photomask to generate octadecyl/silanol-pattern.
They were used as templates to deposit TiO
2
thin films by
the use of titanium dichloride diethoxide (TDD). Amorphous
TiO
2
films were selectively deposited on silanol regions.
Annealing the films at high temperatures (400600 jC) gave
rise to an anatase phase, while the resolution of a micropattern
remained unchanged. However, annealing process is required
to obtain patterns of anatase TiO
2
thin films in this process.
On the other hand, a micropattern of anatase TiO
2
thin film
was fabricated by the site-selective immersion [15] method
using a SAM which has a pattern of both hydrophilic and
hydrophobic surfaces. A solution containing Ti precursor
contacted the hydrophilic surface during the experiment and
briefly came in contact with the hydrophobic surface. The
solution on the hydrophilic surface was replaced with fresh
solution by continuous movement of bubbles. Thus, TiO
2
was deposited and a thin film was grown on the hydrophilic
surface selectively. However, feature edge acuity of the
0167-2738/$ - see front matter D 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.ssi.2004.02.068
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +81-52-789-3329; fax: +81-52-789-3201.
E-mail address: masuda@apchem.nagoya-u.ac.jp (Y. Masuda).
www.elsevier.com/locate/ssi
Solid State Ionics 172 (2004) 283288
micropattern needs to be improved further in order to use
anatase TiO
2
micropatterns for electronic or optical devices.
Investigation of the mechanism of nucleation and growth of
TiO
2
from the aqueous solution would produce valuable
information for making desired thin films and micropatterns.
In this study, we have developed a novel method for SSD
of anatase TiO
2
thin films using a seed layer and the
knowledge obtained by the evaluation of deposition mech-
anism. We evaluated the surface zeta potential of SAMs and
TiO
2
particles in a solution containing ions such as TiF
6
2
and BO
3
3
. We also investigated the TiO
2
deposition rate
and quantity for several kinds of SAMs and the time
dependence of the crystal-axis orientation to clarify the
mechanism of nucleation and growth. The nucleation and
initial growth of anatase TiO
2
were found to be accelerated
on amorphous TiO
2
thin films compared with silanol,
amino, phenyl or octadecyl groups by the evaluation of
deposition mechanism using a quartz crystal microbalance
(QCM). In our process, amorphous TiO
2
was shown to
decrease the nucleation energy of anatase TiO
2
and provided
nucleation sites for the formation of anatase TiO
2
. The
micropattern having amorphous TiO
2
regions and OTS-
SAM regions was immersed in an aqueous solution con-
taining Ti precursor to be used as a template for SSD.
Anatase TiO
2
was selectively deposited on amorphous TiO
2
regions to form a micropattern of anatase TiO
2
thin films.
2. Experimental
2.1. SAM preparation
OTS-SAM, phenyltrichlorosilane (PTCS)-SAM and 3-
aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTS)-SAM were prepared by
immersing the Si substrate in toluene solutions containing
OTS, PTCS, APTS, respectively [1622]. Octadecylmercap-
tan (OM)-SAM, phenylmercaptan (PM)-SAM and 2-amino-
ethanethiol (AET)-SAM were prepared by immersing the
Au-coated quartz crystal of a quartz crystal microbalance
(QCM; QCA917, Seiko EG&G) in a bicyclohexyl solution
containing OM, PM or AET, respectively. OM-SAM on the
quartz crystal of the QCM was exposed for 2 h to UV light
(184.9 nm) to assess the deposition rate of TiO
2
on OH
groups. OM-SAM, PM-SAM and AET-SAM were used
instead of OTS-SAM, PTCS-SAM or APTS-SAM for
QCM analysis. Initially deposited OTS-SAM, PTCS-SAM,
APTS-SAM, OM-SAM, PM-SAM and AET-SAM showed
water contact angles of 96j, 74j, 48j 96j, 76j and 53j,
respectively. UV-irradiated surfaces of SAMs were, however,
wetted completely (contact angle < 5j). This suggests that
SAMs of OTS, PTCS, APTS, OM, PM and AET were
modified to hydrophilic OH group surfaces by UV irradia-
tion. The order of SAM hydrophobicity determined from
these measurements was OTS-SAM>PTCS-SAM>APTS-
SAM>OH groups on silicon. Zeta potentials measured in
aqueous solutions (pH= 7.0) for the surface of silicon sub-
strate covered with OH groups, phenyl groups (PTCS) and
amino groups (APTS) were measured to be 38.23, + 0.63
and + 22.0 mV [23], respectively. The order of zeta potential
in the aqueous solution of our experiment is presumed to be
APTS-SAM>PTCS-SAM>OH-SAM (OH groups on sili-
con). OTS-SAMs were exposed for 2 h to UV light through
a photomask. The UV-irradiated regions became hydrophilic
owing to the formation of Si-OH groups, while the non-
irradiated part remained unchanged, i.e., it was composed of
hydrophobic octadecyl groups, which gave rise to patterned
OTS-SAM. This patterned SAM was used as a template for
SSD of amorphous TiO
2
thin films [12,13].
2.2. Deposition of anatase TiO
2
thin films
Ammonium hexafluorotitanate ([NH
4
]
2
TiF
6
) and boric
acid (H
3
BO
3
) were separately dissolved in deionized water
at 50 jC and kept for 12 h (Fig. 1). An appropriate amount
of HCl was added to the boric acid solution to control pH,
and ammonium hexafluorotitanate solution was added.
Fig. 1. Deposition quantity of anatase TiO
2
on amorphous TiO
2
, octadecyl groups, phenyl groups, amino groups or hydroxyl groups at pH 1.5 as a function of
deposition time and conceptual process for site-selective deposition of anatase TiO
2
thin films using a seed layer.
Y. Masuda et al. / Solid State Ionics 172 (2004) 283288 284
SAMs were immersed in the solution containing 0.05 M
(NH
4
)
2
TiF
6
and 0.15 M (H
3
BO
3
) at pH 1.5 or 2.8 and kept
at 50 jC to deposit anatase TiO
2
. Deposition of TiO
2
proceeds by the following mechanisms [24]:
TiF
2
6
2H
2
OfTiO
2
4H

6F

a
BO
3
3
4F

6H

!BF

4
3H
2
O b
2.3. QCM measurement
Quartz crystals covered with SAMs were placed 5 mm
below the surface of the solution. The solution was kept
covered to prevent the evaporation of water, and water (50
jC) was added to compensate for any evaporated water.
Frequency decrease (DF (Hz)) was converted into weight
increase (Dm (ng)) by the following equation:
Dmng 1:068 DFHz c
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Quantitative analysis of the deposition of anatase TiO
2
onto an amorphous TiO
2
thin film or onto SAMs
Quartz crystals covered with amorphous TiO
2
thin film,
OM-SAM (CH
3
), PM-SAM (Ph), AET-SAM (NH
2
) or OH-
SAM (OH) were immersed in a solution [15] containing
0.05 M TiF
6
2
and 0.015 M BO
3
3
at pH 1.5 or pH 2.8 (Fig.
1). The supersaturation degree of the solution at pH 1.5 was
low as the high concentration of H
+
suppressed TiO
2
generation, and hence the deposition reaction progresses
slowly with no homogeneous nucleation occurring in the
solution. We found that anatase TiO
2
was deposited on an
amorphous TiO
2
thin film faster than on OM-, PM- AET- or
OH-SAMs at pH 1.5. This shows that the deposition of
anatase TiO
2
was accelerated on amorphous TiO
2
compared
with on silanol, amino, phenyl or octadecyl groups. Amor-
phous TiO
2
probably decreases the nucleation energy of
anatase TiO
2
. The difference in deposition rate enables SSD
to be achieved. The amorphous TiO
2
thin film can be used
as a seed layer to accelerate the deposition of anatase TiO
2
.
The deposition rate at pH 2.8 was larger than that at pH 1.5
because of the high degree of supersaturation, and homo-
geneously nucleated particles in the solution deposited on
the whole surface of the substrate, regardless of the surface
functional groups. The thickness of anatase TiO
2
thin film
deposited on a quartz crystal covered with amorphous TiO
2
at pH 1.5 for 1 h and at pH 2.8 for 30 min was estimated to
be 36 and 76 nm, respectively, assuming the density of
anatase type TiO
2
to be 3.89 g/cm
3
.
3.2. SSD of anatase TiO
2
using a seed layer
A micropattern [12,13] having amorphous TiO
2
and
octadecyl groups was immersed in an aqueous solution
Fig. 2. SEM micrographs of (1-a), (1-b) a micropattern of amorphous TiO
2
thin films and (2-a), (2-b) a micropattern of anatase TiO
2
thin films deposited at
pH=1.5.
Y. Masuda et al. / Solid State Ionics 172 (2004) 283288 285
[15] at pH 1.5 for 1 h (Fig. 1). Deposited thin films made it
appear white compared with octadecyl group regions in
SEM micrographs (Fig. 2(2-a), (2-b)) because of the differ-
ence in height. The feature edge acuity of anatase TiO
2
pattern was f2.1% variation (i.e., 0.5/23.2) and was much
the same as we calculated from amorphous TiO
2
pattern.
This resemblance was observed from Fig. 2(1-a) and (2-a).
These micrographs were taken from the same position.
Variations of these patterns were much better than that of
the pattern fabricated with a lift-off process and the usual
5% variation afforded by current electronics design rules.
Additionally, these variations were similar to that of a TEM
mesh (2.1%) we used as a photomask for Fig. 2. Therefore,
variations of these patterns can be improved through the use
of a high-resolution photomask. Deposited films showed
weak XRD patterns of anatase type TiO
2
because the films
were not sufficiently thick to show strong diffraction. This
finding provides evidence for the deposition of anatase TiO
2
on amorphous TiO
2
regions. An atomic force microscope
(AFM; Nanoscope E, Digital Instruments) image showed
anatase TiO
2
thin films to be higher than octadecyl group
regions. The center of the anatase TiO
2
thin film region was
61 nm higher than the octadecyl regions, and the thickness
of the anatase TiO
2
thin film was estimated to be 36 nm
considering the thickness of amorphous TiO
2
thin film (27
nm) [12,13] and OTS molecules (2.4 nm) (Fig. 1). This
result is similar to that estimated by QCM measurement (36
nm). The surface roughness (RMS) of the anatase TiO
2
thin
film was estimated using an AFM image. The AFM image
showed the film roughness to be 3.7 nm (horizontal distance
between measurement points: 6.0 Am), which is less than
that of amorphous TiO
2
thin film (RMS 9.7 nm, 27 nm
thick, horizontal distance between measurement points: 6.0
Am) [12,13]. Additionally, the roughness of the octadecyl
group regions was shown to be 0.63 nm (horizontal distance
between measurement points: 1.8 Am).
Amorphous TiO
2
accelerated the deposition of anatase
TiO
2
and showed its excellent performance as a seed layer.
The feature edge acuity of anatase TiO
2
patterns was
estimated to be approximately 2.1% using the same method
as used for a micropattern fabricated by the lift-off process
[24] and was the same as that of amorphous TiO
2
[12,13].
The feature edge acuity could be improved by using a
higher feature edge acuity photomask since this variance
is similar to that of the TEM mesh (2.1%). XRD measure-
ments for the thin film deposited for 1 h did not show any
peaks since the deposited quantity was not sufficient to
show any diffraction, however, the thin film deposited for 7
h was composed of anatase TiO
2
. Anatase TiO
2
thin films
were not peeled off by sonication in ethanol for 10 min and
showed strong adhesion to the amorphous TiO
2
layer. This
suggests that strong chemical bonds were formed between
anatase TiO
2
and amorphous TiO
2
.
3.3. Crystal-axis orientation of TiO
2
thin film
The growth process of TiO
2
thin films and the crystal-axis
orientation changes were investigated using an X-ray diffrac-
tometer (XRD; RAD-C, Rigaku) with CuKa radiation (40
kV, 30 mA) and Ni filter. Deposited films on all SAMs
showed XRD patterns of anatase TiO
2
after 24 h at pH 1.5
or after 4 h at pH 2.8. XRD patterns showed the same
tendency regardless of the type of SAM, and intensities of
(004) and (105) peaks on all SAMs increased with deposition
time faster than other peaks. The degree of crystal-axis
orientation ( f ) was evaluated using the Lotgering method
[25] taking into account the following diffraction peaks:
(101) = 25.3, (004) = 37.8j, (200) = 48.0j, (105) = 53.9j,
(204) = 62.7j, (116) = 68.8j, (215) = 75.0j (Fig. 5).
f
P P
0
1 P
0
d
P
P
I00l
P
Ihkl
e
P, calculated for the oriented sample; P
0
, P for non-
oriented sample (JCPDS card).
Fig. 3. Intensities of peaks as a function of reaction time (at pH 1.5, on OH
groups).
Fig. 4. FE-SEM micrograph for cross-section profile of TiO
2
thin film
deposited at pH 2.8.
Y. Masuda et al. / Solid State Ionics 172 (2004) 283288 286
The c-axis (00l) orientation of the film was enhanced by
increasing the reaction time for all the kinds of SAMs and
pH. This result suggests that the orientation of the film is
determined not at the initial nucleation or deposition stage
but at the film growth stage. The intensity of the (004) peak
quickly increased but that of (105) increased only gradually
with reaction time, and the intensities of the (101) and (200)
peaks decreased after reaching their maxima regardless of
the type of SAM or pH condition (Fig. 3).
Furthermore, the orientation of thin film deposited at pH
2.8 for 4 h was evaluated by a field emission scanning
electron microscope (FE-SEM; JSM-6700F, point-to-point
resolution 1 nm, JEOL) and a transmission electron micro-
scope (TEM; JEM4010, 400 kV, point-to-point resolution
0.15 nm, JEOL). The cross-section profile of TiO
2
thin films
showed columnar morphology (Fig. 4). However, the col-
umns were not clearly identified compared with the needle-
like morphology of TiO
2
thin films reported recently
[26,27]. This columnar morphology is consistent with
XRD measurement which showed weak c-axis orientation.
Fig. 5 shows a TEM micrograph and electron diffraction
pattern for the cross-section profile of a TiO
2
thin film.
Many small crystals of anatase TiO
2
were observed through-
out the thin film.
These observations firmly indicate that TiO
2
particles
whose c-axes were perpendicular to the substrate surface
may have grown faster than other crystals. Hence, the
diffraction intensities of crystal planes almost perpendicular
to the c-axis such as (004) and (105) increased with
deposition time (Fig. 3). These particles then consumed
other particles whose c-axis was far from perpendicular to
the substrate, thus lowering the diffraction intensities of
crystal planes such as (101) and (200).
4. Conclusions
We utilized the knowledge obtained by the evaluation of
deposition mechanism for SSD of anatase TiO
2
thin films.
The deposition of anatase TiO
2
was shown to be accelerated
on amorphous TiO
2
thin films compared with on octadecyl,
phenyl, amino or hydroxyl groups. A micropattern having
amorphous TiO
2
regions and octadecyl regions to be used as
a template was prepared and immersed in the aqueous
solution. Anatase TiO
2
was successfully deposited on amor-
phous TiO
2
regions, and amorphous TiO
2
thin film was
shown to act effectively as a seed layer to accelerate the
nucleation and initial growth of anatase TiO
2
. Consequently,
SSD was achieved and a micropattern of anatase TiO
2
was
fabricated in the aqueous solution using a seed layer.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported in part by the 21st Century
COE Program Nature-Guided Materials Processing of the
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and
Technology. This work was partly supported by a Grant-
in-Aid for Scientific Research (Grant-in-Aid for Young
Scientists No. 14703025, Exploratory Research No.
14655239) from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports,
Science and Technology granted to Y. Masuda.
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