Hydrophilicity on carbon-doped TiO2 thin films under visible light

Abstract Carbon-doped TiO2 thin films in the anatase phase with dopant concentrations of 1.1, 0.9, and 0.7 mol% were fabricated by a radio-frequency magnetron sputtering method. Dopant carbons were located at the oxygen sites. Carbon substitution caused the absorbance edge and/or the shoulder of TiO2 to shift to a higher wavelength region. Carbon-doped TiO2 thin films underwent a hydrophilic conversion when irradiating with visible light (400–530 nm). The hydrophilic property under visible light was inferior to that under ultraviolet light, which is explained by considering that the visible light sensitivity originates from the localized C 2p formed in the band-gap.