Photodegradation of Rhodamine 6G by Amorphous TiO2 Films Grown on Polymethylmethacrylate by Magnetron Sputtering

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) was deposited on polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) substrates by magnetron sputtering using a Compact Planar Magnetron sputtering device at different flow rate ratios of O2/Ar. The deposited TiO2 on PMMA substrates were characterized using X-ray Diffraction analysis, X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, UV-Visible Spectroscopy, and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). These techniques confirm the deposition of a chemically stable amorphous TiO2 layer on the PMMA surface. Photocatalytic activity of the amorphous TiO2 layers were tested via photodegradation of Rhodamine 6G (Rh6G) dye solution. The samples were able to degrade 18–27% of the Rh6G solution after the initial 25 minutes of UV irradiation and complete degradation of Rh6G was observed after 7 hours of UV irradiation.