Fabrication and photoelectrochemical studies.pdf (898.78 kB)
Download fileFabrication and photoelectrochemical studies of BiTiO pyrochlore thin films by aerosol assisted chemical vapour deposition
journal contribution
posted on 2014-12-02, 16:07 authored by Andrew McInnes, Jagdeep Sagu, Upul Wijayantha-Kahagala-GamagePhase pure thin film BiTiO photoelectrodes were produced by aerosol assisted chemical vapour deposition at 600 °C for the first time. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the as-deposited BiTiO films were amorphous in nature; however, post-deposition annealing at 600°C for 12 h significantly increased the crystallinity to give phase pure BiTiO. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that the as-deposited film had a cauliflower-like structure with features ranging from 0.5 to 1.0 μm in size. It was found that the post-annealing step sintered the features together reducing the pores in the structure and giving rise to larger features of 1.0-2.0 μm in size. Optical studies showed that the BiTiO film had a direct band gap of 2.74 eV. The photoelectrochemical properties of BiTiO were tested and it was found that the electrodes exhibited a photocurrent density of 1.8 μA cm at 0.23 V vs. Ag|AgCl. Results showed that BiTiO is an attractive material for photoelectrochemical water splitting.
Funding
This work was supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) [grant number EP/G037116/1].
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