Effect of Dielectric Barrier Discharge Air Plasma Treatment on TiO2 Thin Film Surfaces

Surface treatment effect on TiO2 thin films with the anatase phase by dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) air plasmas has been investigated for a variety of gas pressures and treatment times. At a low gas pressure (100 hPa) at which a glow-like discharge plasma occurs, hydrophilicities of TiO2 thin films treated at 5 and 30 min are enhanced compared with that of the as-grown thin film. For the 5 min treatment, this trend is more pronounced probably due to oxygen absorbed on the surface from the air plasma. For the 30 min treatment, the enhanced hydrophilicity is probably due to oxygen vacancy created on the surface by a high fluence of the plasma. When the gas pressure increases to 400 hPa at which a streamer discharge plasma occurs, the hydrophilicity is more weakened than that of the as-grown thin film: the plasma-induced damage occurs regardless of the treatment time. This result would probably result from the higher discharge current and UV light intensity caused by the higher breakdown voltage based on Paschen's law. (C) 2011 The Japan Society of Applied Physics