Enhanced photoelectrochemical properties of nanocrystalline TiO(2) electrode by surface sensitization with Cu(x)O quantum dots

Nanoporous anatase TiO(2) films were fabricated by a screen-printing method, and Cu(x)O quantum dots (QDs) were deposited on the TiO(2) films through successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR). The amount of Cu(x)O QDs on the TiO(2) films are controlled by changing the number of SILAR cycles. The morphology, microstructure, optical, and photoelectrochemical properties of different Cu(x)O sensitized TiO(2) films (Cu(x)O/TiO(2)) were investigated in detail. The nanoporous TiO(2) film offers a large surface area for anchoring QDs. QD deposited samples exhibited a significant improvement in photoelectrochemical performance than the bare of TiO(2). Cu(x)O/TiO(2), prepared with 7 SILAR cycles, showed the best photoelectrochemical properties, where the photocurrent density was enhanced to 500.01 μA/cm(2) compared with 168.88 μA/cm(2) of bare TiO(2) under visible light. These results indicate that the designed Cu(x)O/TiO(2) structure possesses superior charge separation efficiency and photoelectrochemical properties.