Development of Yttrium and Iron Oxide Thin Films via AACVD Method for Photooxidation of Water

Owing to high stability, metal oxide-based ceramic thin films are of great interest for photocatalytic oxidation of water. Therefore, the current research is focused on the fabrication of different transition metal oxide thin films to estimate their photocatalytic efficiency. In the present research thin films of oxides of iron and yttrium are prepared on FTO glass substrate via Aerosol Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition (AACVD) from methanol solution of iron and yttrium acetate precursors. The deposition of targeted films Fe 2 O 3 and Y 2 O 3 were carried out at 420 and 450 °C respectively under the argon gas flow of 120 cm 3 /min. Thin films were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), to determine their phase and morphology. The direct energy band gaps were determined via Tauc’s plot that gave values of 2.05 eV and 3.3 eV for oxides of iron and yttrium respectively. The photoelectrochemical water splitting response of the as-fabricated transition metal oxide as working electrodes were measured using linear scan voltammetry. The maximum value of photocurrent density recorded under the illumination with xenon lamp at 1.2 V vs. RHE was equal to 2.5 mA/cm 2 and 0.3 mA/cm 2 for Fe 2 O 3 and Y 2 O 3 thin films, respectively.