Temperature-dependent wetting and other physical characteristics of sputtered grown WO₃ thin films

Monoclinic tungsten trioxide (WO₃) thin films have been successfully synthesized on the glass substrate in a reactive environment (Ar/O₂) using DC magnetron sputtering. Effect of substrate temperature (RT–450°C) on wetting and other physical properties of the films was investigated comprehensively. Various standard techniques, such as XRD, XPS and FESEM were employed to examine the physical properties of deposited films, while the sessile drop method-based contact angle measurement was employed to examine the wetting properties. The important findings of our study demonstrated the significant role played by the substrate temperature in enhancing the film properties. The WO₃ thin film synthesized at 450°C shows the preferred (020) orientation with a large crystallite size of about 68.2 nm. Further, this film showed high porosity and displayed a hydrophobic nature comparable to others, which makes it highly suitable for applications in sensing and water-repellent fields.