Acta Phys. -Chim. Sin. ›› 2010, Vol. 26 ›› Issue (09): 2343-2348.doi: 10.3866/PKU.WHXB20100904

• ELECTROCHEMISTRY • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Photoelectrochemical Properties of Cubic Tungsten Trioxide Films Obtained by the Polymeric Precursor Method

LI Wen-Zhang1, LI Jie1, WANG Xuan1,2, ZHANG Shu-Juan1, CHEN Qi-Yuan1   

  1. 1. Key Laboratory of Resources Chemistry of Nonferrous Metals, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, P. R. China;
    2. Shenyang Aluminum and Magnesium Engineering and Research Institute, Shenyang 110001, P. R. China
  • Received:2010-03-09 Revised:2010-04-28 Published:2010-09-02
  • Contact: LI Jie E-mail:lijieliu@mail.csu.edu.cn
  • Supported by:

    The project was supported by the NewCentury Excellent Talents in University, China (NCET.05.0691) and Key Research Project in Science and Technology Programof Hunan Province, China (2008SK1001).

Abstract:

WO3 films were prepared using ammonium metatungstate as the precursor and polyethylene glycol 1000 as the structure-directing agent by the polymeric precursor method. The obtained materials were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectrophotometry. The photoelectrochemical properties of the WO3 film electrodes were studied by cyclic voltammetry, Mott-Schottky, transient photocurrent spectra, and photocurrent-potential curve analysis. Results indicate that the films are crystalline with a cubic structure and they have bandgap energy of 2.7 eV. The flat band potential, donor carrier density, and photocurrent density of the sample calcined at 450 ℃ are 0.06 V, 2.44×1022 cm-3 and 2.70 mA·cm-2 under a 500W Xe lamp (I0=100 mW·cm-2), respectively. The effect of calcination temperature on the photoelectrochemical properties of the WO3 films was investigated and the mechanismof charge separation for its behavior was also discussed.

Key words: Cubic WO3, Nano-structured film, Photoelectrochemistry, Polymeric precursor