Abstract
The main goal of this work is to provide a general description of the negative photoconductivity effect observed in Ag/AgO films grown by the spray-pyrolysis technique. X-ray diffractograms display hybrid films with high texturized AgO and metallic Ag phases. Scanning electron microscopy images show small Ag particles on the surface. Due to its surface nature, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed the predominance of the metallic character of Ag 3d spectra as compared to Ag2+. Negative photoconductivity with photoresponse in the order of seconds is observed under several wavelengths of excitation. We found that the amplitude of the negative photoresponse is strongly dependent on the optical absorbance and enhanced by surface plasmon resonance. The low-cost technique employed and the special features regarding negative photoconductivity provide an exciting platform for developing optical-electronic devices with low power consumption.
Highlights
Metal oxides films present exciting features such as the semiconductor behavior and optical transparency associated with several ways to synthesize them
Silver oxide thin film was grown on a soda-lime substrate with spray pyrolysis technique, presenting versatility and economic viability
The growth is based on cycles described elsewhere [18], and the low molarity condition tends to increase the crystallinity of films grown by spray pyrolysis [19]
Summary
Metal oxides films present exciting features such as the semiconductor behavior and optical transparency associated with several ways to synthesize them. The surface decoration with noble metal structures is a powerful tool to enhance sensing response in light-assisted devices [3]. In such a case, the use of Ag structures increases the local electromagnetic field by surface plasma absorbance that strengthens hot electron-based processes important to photochemical reactions [4]. Metallic nanoparticles allow the fabrication of stretchable conductive thin films due to their mechanical properties that includes greater flexibility. This is important for thin films electrodes on plastic substrates, for example. Silver oxides have many technological applications as electrodes for batteries and photocatalytic degradation systems for pollutants [11–13]
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