A study on 170 MeV Au~(13+) irradiation induced modifications in structural and photoelectrochemical behavior of nanostructured CuO thin films

摘要

The effect of 170 MeV Au~(13+) irradiation on photoelectrochemical (PEC) and structural properties of CuO thin films has been investigated. The X-ray diffractograms of post-irradiated CuO thin films showed diffused nature towards higher theta value with the appearance of crystalline peaks, indicative of some randomization taking place at higher fluence, i.e. 10~(13) ions cm~(-2). While, upon irradiation, the size of particles/grains decreased, the band gap energy also marginally shifted. ERDA analysis indicated no change in stoichiometry of thin films even at higher fluence. The observed decrease in photoelectrochemical response, upon irradiation, has been attributed to the creation of greater number of kink sites/dislocations, which seemingly act as recombination centers for photogenerated charge carriers.