Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 February 2011
Backscattering spectrometry has been used to determine the density of TiO2 sol-gel films. The density of the as-deposited films relative to that of anatase varies slightly with respect to deposition conditions and is approximately 0.5. Annealing at temperatures as high as 750°C increases the relative density to 0.7 with concomitant decreases in the O:Ti ratio and H content but it does not result in complete densification. Film densities are consistently higher for films annealed under dynamic vacuum compared to those in air.