Mathematical Modeling of Droplet Formation, Evaporation, and Film Growth to Study Crystallite Size and Film Thickness of Spray Pyrolysis Deposited TiO2 Thin Films

The pure TiO2 thin films were successfully deposited onto a glass substrate by using modified spray pyrolysis system. The TiO2 thin films were deposited at temperature 350°C using Titanium trichloride precursor solutions of concentration 0.075 M, 0.1 M, and 0.125 M. Also, TiO2 thin films with precursor solutions of concentration 0.1 M were deposited at different deposition temperature 350°C, 400°C, and 450°C. The prepared samples were further annealed at 500°C for 2 h to improve crystallinity. The XRD study revealed that the deposited TiO2 thin films were polycrystalline and showed anatase phase with pre-dominant (101) peak. The crystallite size calculated from XRD was found to increase with increase in precursor solution concentration. The mathematical model to calculate crystallite size and film thickness were developed and the predicted results were compared with experimental results. The experimentally calculated crystallite size and thickness was in good agreement with the predicted results. The details of mathematical model and calculations TiO2 thin films for were discussed in detail. [DOI: 10.1380/ejssnt.2018.419]