Fabrication and characterisation of titania nanoporous thin film for photoelectrochemical (PEC) conversion of water

In this paper, nanoporous titania thin films for PEC conversion of water were dip coated by using acetic acid as a stabiliser and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) as a pore former. The evolution of microstructure and morphology of the thin films at different conditions was investigated by XRD, SEM and AFM. Anatase was the primary crystalline phase of the as-obtained titania nanoporous thin film after heat treatment at 500 degrees C/2h. A small amount of PEG, a low ratio of acetic acid/Titania butoxide (HoAC/TBOT) and a relatively low withdrawal speed facilitate the formation of TiO2 nanoporous thin films with a homogeneous distributed nanostructure. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.