Dominant co-exposed {101}/{111} facet of Er-doped rutile TiO2 film via hydrothermal doping

• Published in: Materials letters 2023-04, Vol.336, p.133864, Article 133864
• Main Authors: Hamed, N.K.A., Nafarizal, N., Ahmad, M.K., Faridah, A.B., Shimomura, M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Erbium; Hydrothermal doping process; Rutile TiO2; {1 1 1} facet
• ISSN: 0167-577X; 1873-4979
• DOI: 10.1016/j.matlet.2023.133864

•Er-doped rutile-phase TiO2 film with exposed {101} and {111} facets were obtained.•A facile hydrothermal doping process was employed to fabricate the film.•The {111} facet has higher energy facet compared to another facet.•T-Er 1.0% based TEM results confirmed the facet changed upon doping.•The synergistic effect of {101} and {111} facets improved the spatial separation. The origin of the improved performance of erbium-doped TiO2 film via the hydrothermal doping process is discussed. Facet engineering of rutile TiO2 on the surface atomic structure is known but the electronic structure has been rarely studied to date. Particularly, the dominant facet of rutile TiO2 has changed upon doping resulting with co-exposed {101}/{111} facet as shown in TEM results. The surface energy levels of the conduction band (CB) and valence band (VB) on different crystal surfaces change, and these variations in energy levels will cause the electrons and holes to gravitate toward different crystal faces and inhibit the electron-hole recombination.