Preparation of TiO2/ITO film electrode by AP-MOCVD for photoelectrocatalytic application

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) thin films were grown onto Indium tin oxide (ITO) glass under atmospheric pressure by chemical vapor deposition (AP-MOCVD) using titanium tetraisopropoxide astitanium precursor. The as-prepared TiO2/ITO films were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and photoelectrochemical measurements. Their photocatalytic (PC) and photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) activities were evaluated based on the results of methyl orange dye (MO) degradation experiments in aqueous solution. The difference between the front side (EE, electrolyte/electrode interface) and the back side (SE, substrate/electrode interface) illumination was evaluated in both photocurrent and MO degradation experiments. The effect of the film thickness on degradation rate by PEC under the two illumination directions was also studied. Stability of TiO2/ITO film electrode was investigated in repetitive degradation experiments. Overall, the TiO2/ITO film with thickness ranging from 321 to1440 nm deposited by MOCVD method is an effective photoelectrode for MO degradation under SE illumination in PEC reaction system.