Photoelectrochemical characteristics of TiO2 nanorod arrays grown on fluorine doped tin oxide substrates by the facile seeding layer assisted hydrothermal method

Abstract:

TiO2 nanorod arrays (NRAs) were prepared on fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) substrates by a facile two-step hydrothermal method. The nanorods were selectively grown on the FTO regions which were covered with TiO2 seeding layer. It took 5 h to obtain the compact arrays with the nanorod length of ~2 μm and diameter of ~50 nm. The photoelectrochemical (PEC) properties of TiO2 NRAs are also investigated. It is demonstrated that the TiO2 NRAs indicate the good photoelectric conversion ability with an efficiency of 0.22% at a full-wavelength irradiation. A photocurrent density of 0.21 mA/cm2 is observed at 0.7 V versus the saturated calomel electrode (SCE). More evidences suggest that the charge transferring resistance is lowered at an irradiation, while the flat-band potential (Vfb) is shifted towards the positive side.