Size-Dependent Photoelectrochemical Properties of Nanostructured WO_3 Thin Films Synthesized via Electrodeposition Method

摘要

The main aim of this study was to investigate size-dependent effect on the photoelectrochemical properties of nanostructured tungsten trioxide (WO_3) thin films synthesized via electrochemical method. Firstly, the nanostructured WO_3 thin films of different crystalline sizes were synthesized on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass working electrodes followed by controlled annealing treatment at temperature of 100-600°C. The resultant nanostructured WO_3 thin films were further characterized using field emission-scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and photocurrent density measurements. Through FE-SEM analysis, it was found that the WO_3 crystalline size increases with increasing annealing temperature that resulted in elevated photocurrent per unit area of the synthesized nanostructured WO_3 thin films. Finally, it was observed that the highest photocurrent density of up to 35μA/cm~2 was attained for WO_3 crystallines size of 86nm that formed at the annealing temperature of 600°C.