A study on 170 MeV Au~(13+) irradiated nanostructured metal oxide (Fe_2O_3 and CuO) thin films for PEC applications

摘要

One hundred and seventy MeV Au~(13+) irradiation induced modification in photoelectrochemical (PEC) and structural properties of nanostructured 2%Cr-Fe_2O_3 and CuO thin films has been investigated. The X-ray diffractogram of both oxides indicated diffused nature of peaks with the appearance of crystalline peaks, indicative of partial amorphization taking place at higher fluence i.e. 10~(13) ions cm~(-2). Upon irradiation, the band gap energy was found to decrease marginally. The irradiated 2%Cr-Fe_2O_3 samples (fluence 10~(12) ions cm~(-2)) used as working electrode in the PEC cell showed enhanced photocurrent generation. A decrease in photocurrent generation was recorded in case of irradiated 2%Cr-Fe_2O_3/CuO at higher fluence i.e. 10~(13) ions cm~(-2) and irradiated CuO sample at fluence 10~(12) ions cm~(-2), which may be attributed to the creation of greater number of kink sites/dislocations, that are probably acting as recombination centers for photogenerated electrons.