This paper presents a comprehensive study of atomic layer deposition of TiO(2) films on silicon and polycarbonate substrates using TiCl(4) and H(2)O as precursors at temperatures in the range 80-120 degrees C. An in-situ quartz crystal microbalance was used to monitor different processing conditions and the resultant films were characterised ex-situ using a suite of surface analytical tools. In addition, the contact angle and wettability of as-deposited and UV irradiated films were assessed. The latter was found to reduce the contact angle from >= 80 degrees to <10 degrees. Finally, the effect of surface pre-treatment on film toughness and adhesion was investigated and the results show a significant improvement for the pre-treated films. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.