Surface wettability and photocatalytic activities of ZrOxNy monolayer, ZrOxNy/Au bilayer and ZrOxNy/Au/TeO2 trilayer for self-cleaning and antifogging coatings applications

• Published in: Journal of materials science. Materials in electronics 2024-09, Vol.35 (26), p.1737, Article 1737
• Main Authors: Hassaballa, S., Aljabri, A., Mohamed, S. H., EL-Kassem, M. Abo, Hakeem, A. M. Abdel, Awad, M. A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Bilayers; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemical composition; Chemistry and Materials Science; Cleaning; Contact angle; Crystallography; Degradation; Gold; Hydrophilicity; Magnetic properties; Magnetron sputtering; Materials Science; Monolayers; Nanowires; Nitrogen; Optical and Electronic Materials; Photocatalysis; Tellurium dioxide; Wettability; Zirconium dioxide
• ISSN: 0957-4522; 1573-482X
• DOI: 10.1007/s10854-024-13489-1

ZrO x N y monolayer, ZrO x N y /Au bilayer, ZrO x N y /Au/TeO 2 trilayer films were investigated for their hydrophilic properties and photocatalytic activities. ZrO x N y and Au layers were prepared by dc reactive magnetron sputtering whereas TeO 2 layer was prepared by vapor transport technique. X-ray diffraction revealed the formation of monoclinic ZrO 2 phase for ZrO x N y films with low nitrogen content whereas mixed monoclinic and tetragonal ZrO 2 phases were formed for ZrO x N y films with higher nitrogen content. The chemical composition of ZrO x N y bottom layer affected the growth of the Au layer. The tetragonal TeO 2 , in ZrO x N y /Au/TeO 2 trilayer, blocked most of ZrO 2 and Au crystallographic peaks. The ZrO x N y /Au films are composed of tiny nanoparticles in the range 27–33 nm and the ZrO x N y /Au/TeO 2 films have branched-nanowires morphology. ZrO x N y monolayer films are hydrophilic and the hydrophilicity decreases then increases with increasing the nitrogen content in the film. Adding an Au layer, then TeO 2 layer over ZrO x N y resulted in a pronounced decrease in water contact angle. After UV-illumination the contact angle of the films became almost zero and the surfaces transformed to super-hydrophilic. Nitrogen doping enhances the degradation rate of ZrO x N y monolayer film. The highest degradation rate was observed for ZrO 1.9 N 0.3 /Au/TeO 2 trilayer film. The prepared ZrO x N y /Au/TeO 2 trilayer films are good candidates for self-cleaning and antifogging applications.