Properties of spray deposited titanium dioxide thin films and their application in photoelectrocatalysis

Thin films of titanium dioxide were deposited onto optically transparent, electrically conducting substrates (fluorine doped tin oxide on glass). The two oxide layers, SnO₂ and TiO₂, were deposited sequentially by spray pyrolysis. TiO₂ films of up to 800 nm thickness were prepared by varying the quantity of sprayed solution (titanyl acetylacetonate in methanol), at a growth rate of 0.15 nm/s.The effect of film thickness on the structural, optical and photoelectrochemical properties of TiO₂ films was studied. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the polycrystalline anatase films were compact. The grain size increased up to 1100 nm with increase in film thickness, whereas the crystallite size remained constant (40 nm) as shown by X-ray diffraction. The films had a transmittance of more than 70% in the visible region.Junctions of the semiconducting films with aqueous electrolytes were rectifying and photoactive. Films of 330 or 600 nm were thick enough to exhibit maximum photoelectrochemical response for light of a wavelength of 313 or 365 nm, respectively. Under depletion conditions, an IPCE (incident photon to current conversion efficiency) of 0.8 for a 330 nm thick film at 313 nm was obtained.Oxalic acid degradation under UVA light and under sunlight, applying electrical bias, was demonstrated using these electrodes.