Photocatalytic anatase titanium dioxide thin films deposition by an atmospheric pressure blown arc discharge

A blown arc discharge fed with TIPO and N2 is studied for the deposition of TiO2 thin films.•Fine control of the deposition parameters allows to limit homogeneous gas-phase reactions.•Highly photocatalytic coatings have been grown at a substrate temperature below 490K. TiO2 thin films are deposited by means of an atmospheric pressure blown arc discharge fed with nitrogen and titanium bis(acetylacetonate) diisopropoxide (TIPO) as precursor. Different power densities and distances between the plasma nozzle, the precursor injector and the substrate are investigated and different morphologies, compositions and crystallinities of the coatings are generated. The photocatalytic properties of the coatings, determined from the degradation of stearic acid shined by a 254nm UV light, are shown to be strongly related to the film characteristic and therefore to the deposition parameters.