Influence of Heat Treatments on the Photocatalytic Activity of TiO2 Surfaces Produced by Direct Laser Interference Patterning

Direct laser interference patterning (DLIP) has in previous work shown to be an effective tool for producing photocatalytic surfaces in a single relatively simple processing step. These surfaces can be interesting candidates for antifouling or self-cleaning surfaces, as well as substrates for photocatalytic water treatment. In this contribution, various heat treatments are performed both during and after the laser processing to create surfaces with even higher photocatalytic activities and to better understand the formation of various process oxides and their effect on the resulting activity. The photocatalytic activity of the samples is measured by methylene blue degradation and correlated to their chemical composition and morphology. Furthermore, a small prototype is built using low-cost materials to prove the scalability of the approach.