The Gas Nucleation Process Study of Anatase TiO 2 in Atmospheric Non-Thermal Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition

The gas phase nucleation process of anatase TiO ₂ in atmospheric non-thermal plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition is studied. The particles synthesized in the plasma gas phase at different power density were collected outside of the reactor. The structure of the collected particles has been investigated by field scanning electron microscope (FESEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and selected area electron diffraction (SAED). The analysis shows that uniform crystalline nuclei with average size of several nanometers have been formed in the scale of micro second through this reactive atmo- spheric plasma gas process. The crystallinity of the nanoparticles increases with power density. The high density of crystalline nanonuclei in the plasma gas phase and the low gas temperature are beneficial to the fast deposition of the 3D porous anatase TiO ₂ film.