TiO2 anatase intermediary layer acting as template for ZnO pulsed electrodeposition
By T
Published in Materials & Design
2016
Abstract
Zinc oxide nanorod (ZnO NR) films for photocatalytic and energy conversion applications were synthesized by pulsed electrodeposition. The films were prepared on modified fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass coated with thin layers of ZnO seeds and porous anatase titanium dioxide (TiO2). The ZnO seed layers were prepared electrochemically, whilst the TiO2 layers by spin-coating. Morphological and structural analysis of the films reveal the effect of the TiO2 intermediate layers on ZnO \NRs\ was to improve vertical alignment, increase spatial density and decrease diameter. Room temperature photoluminescence (PL) results show that the ZnO \NRs\ exhibit near band edge recombination and deep level emission in the green and red spectral regions. The green emission was almost suppressed for ZnO \NRs\ grown using the TiO2 intermediate layer followed by two step electrodeposition of ZnO. The prepared films demonstrated photoelectrochemical behaviour in aqueous electrolytes. Additionally, the ZnO \NRs\ prepared with a TiO2 intermediate layer demonstrated increased stability to photo-dissolution.