Electrochromic behavior of NiO film prepared by e-beam evaporation

The NiO thin films were prepared by the electron beam evaporation method using synthesized sintered targets. As-prepared films were characterized using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, UV–VIS spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry. The thicker films were found to exhibit a well-defined structure and a well-developed crystallite size with greater transmittance modulation and durability. The as-deposited thinner films of 170 nm showed a faster response time during electrochromic cycles with a coloration efficiency of 53.1 C/cm2 than the thicker ones. However, the thicker films showed no enhanced electrochromic properties such as a larger intercalated charge than the thinner ones. The electrochromic properties of the thinner films became deteriorated after 800 cycling tests

Fabrication of Nanowire Arrays CuO-Al₂O₃-TiO₂ as p-Insulator-n Heterojunction for Photochemical Water Splitting

CuO@TiO2 nanowires were prepared with the use of a porous alumina membrane (PAM). The conventional thermal chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method was used for the deposition of TiO2 by decomposing titanium isopropoxide (Ti(OiPr)4). The multilayer heterojunction is tested for possible photochemical water splitting application. The photo conversion properties of the CuO-Al2O3-TiO2 (p-insulator-n) heterojunction along with the microstructures and composition were characterized by Potentiostat, SEM and TEM, respectively. The shape of CuO nanowire arrays were hexagonal honeycombs and size was about 90 nm which depends on the uniform pore size of the PAM. The microstructural characterization showed that the nanosized CuO-Al2O3-TiO2 is a p-insulator-n heterojunction. The maximum photoconversion efficiency of 1.13 and 1.61% is obtained for CuO and CuO-Al2O3-TiO2 nanowire arrays junctions. An energy band diagram was introduced to explain the change in current during water splitting due to electron tunneling through the insulating layer

Effect of Annealing Temperature and Oxygen Flow in the Properties of Ion Beam Sputtered SnO—2x Thin Films

Tin oxide (SnO2—x) thin films were prepared under various flow ratios of O2/(O2 + Ar) on unheated glass substrate using the ion beam sputtering (IBS) deposition technique. This work studied the effects of the flow ratio of O2/(O2 + Ar), chamber pressures and post-annealing treatment on the physical properties of SnO2 thin films. It was found that annealing affects the crystal quality of the films as seen from both X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis. In addition, the surface RMS roughness was measured with atomic force microscopy (AFM). Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) analysis was used to obtain the changes of elemental distribution between tin and oxygen atomic concentration. The electrical property is discussed with attention to the structure factor