Nitrite ion sensing properties of ZnTiO3-TiO2 composite thin films deposited from a zinc-titanium molecular complexElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Microanalysis results, H-NMR spectrum, IR spectrum, X-ray diffraction pattern, Energy dispersive X-ray spectra, and electrochemical plots. CCDC 1026550. For ESI and crystallographic data in CIF or other electronic format see DOI: 10.1039/c5nj00850f

• Main Authors: Ehsan, Muhammad Ali, Khaledi, Hamid, Pandikumar, Alagarsamy, Rameshkumar, Perumal, Huang, Nay Ming, Arifin, Zainudin, Mazhar, Muhammad
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1144-0546; 1369-9261
• DOI: 10.1039/c5nj00850f

A titanium based heterobimetallic molecular precursor, [Zn 2 Ti 4 (μ-O) 6 (TFA) 8 (THF) 6 ]·THF ( 1 ) (where TFA = trifluoroacetato; THF = tetrahydrofuran), has been designed and scrutinised for its various physicochemical properties by melting point analysis, microanalysis, Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy, proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, thermogravimetry and single crystal X-ray structural analysis. ZnTiO 3 -TiO 2 composite thin films were grown on a fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) coated conducting glass substrate at 550 °C from three different solutions of ( 1 ) viz. methanol, THF and acetonitrile, by the aerosol-assisted chemical vapour deposition technique. The phase identification, chemical composition and microstructure of the fabricated thin films that were probed by powder X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, energy dispersive X-ray analysis and scanning electron microscopy revealed the formation of a 1 : 1 ratio of ZnTiO 3  : TiO 2 composite microspheres of diverse designs and textures depending on the type of deposition solvent used. The direct band gap energy of 3.1 eV was estimated by UV-visible spectrophotometry of the ZnTiO 3 -TiO 2 film fabricated from methanol solution and the film electrode was further tested as an electrochemical sensor for the detection of nitrite ions. ZnTiO 3 -TiO 2 composite thin film electrode has been fabricated by AACVD method and tested for electrochemical nitrite ion detection.