Preparation and photoelectrochemical performance of TiO 2/HS–CH 2–COOH/Cu 3Se 2 composite film

Abstract

In this paper, the TiO 2/HS–CH 2–COOH/Cu 3Se 2 composite film photoanodes were fabricated on conducting glass plates. Cu 3Se 2 nanoparticles were used as the sensitizer and the bi-functional modifier HS–CH 2–COOH was used at the interface between Cu 3Se 2 and TiO 2 films to improve the properties of the film photoanode. The characterization results show that the sol–gel prepared anatase TiO 2 film has a compact and uniform surface, while the tetragonal Cu 3Se 2 film has a coarse surface which is made up of uniform elongated particles. The photoelectrochemical experimental results indicate that the TiO 2/HS–CH 2–COOH/Cu 3Se 2 composite film photoanodes have a good photovoltaic property.