Synthesis, Properties, and Applications of Special Substrates Coated by Titanium Dioxide Nanostructured Thin Films via Sol-Gel Process

In this chapter, the sol-gel made titanium dioxide nanostructured thin films deposited on special substrates such as glasses, mica, steels, textiles, fibers, and other organic/inorganic substrates were reviewed. Through this review, several distinctive properties such as optical, electrical, photocatalytic, morphological, and mechanical properties of TiO2 nanostructured thin films were described. Also, a wide range of practical application of TiO2 nanostructured thin films such as dye-sensitised solar cells, optical coatings, humidity and gas sensors, selfcleaning, dielectric, and antibacterial surfaces were discussed in details. Dip and spin coating techniques were demonstrated as suitable methods for deposition of thin films. It has been shown that properties of such films can be affected by type of coating technique, stabilizer, precursor material, solvents, pH and viscosity of precursor solution, aging, and etc. Finally, Successive Interference Fringes Method (SIFM) was presented as a simple method for the determination of optical constants and thickness of TiO2 thin films from single transmission measurements.