Deposition of nanocrystalline TiO2 thin films on poly(ethylene Terephthalate) at ≤130°C

A sol-gel method was used to produce thin films of the anatase polymorph of titania on poly(ethylene Terephthalate) (PET). This was done at a temperature of only 130°C, which demonstrates the feasibility of the fabrication of flexible photocatalyts, solar cells, and other semiconducting materials. The films were ∼570 nm thick and were comprised of grains of 15–25 nm diameter; these grains themselves consisted of crystallites of 5–10 nm diameter.