Photo-induced electrochemical functionality of the TiO 2 nanoscale films

Abstract

Titanium(IV) oxide semiconducting thin films were deposited in the environment of chemically active plasma by means of the PVD hollow cathode plasma jet sputtering, PVD magnetron sputtering and the PECVD technique (surfatron produced plasma discharge as a jet type). In parallel the sol–gel process carried out in the reverse micelle environment was utilized as a purely chemical procedure. Prepared films were described by a series of characterization methods involving atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy (UV–vis). All layers were tested then for their photo-induced electrochemical properties based on evaluation of polarization curves and corresponding photocurrents. These experiments were carried out in the opto-electrical apparatus supplemented with a system of highly precious spectral filters. The differences among photocurrent values were discussed.