Modified structural, morphological and photoelectrochemical properties of 120 MeV Ag9+ ion irradiated BaTiO3 thin films

The effects of high electronic energy deposition on the structure, surface topography, optical property and photoelectrochemical behavior of barium titanate thin (BaTiO3) films have been investigated by irradiating films with 120 MeV Ag9+ ions at different ion fluences in the range of 1 x 10(11)-3 x 10(12) ions cm(-2). Barium titanate thin films were deposited on indium tin oxide-coated glass substrate by sol-gel spin coating method. The structure of the film was crystalline with tetragonal phase. Surface topography was studied by atomic force microscopy detailing the values of roughness of the films. Maximum photocurrent density of 1.78 mA cm(-2) at 0.4 V/SCE and applied bias photon-to-current efficiency (ABPE) of 0.91% was observed for BaTiO3 film irradiated at 1 x 10(11) ions cm(-2). (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.