• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.7-11
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• 2003

Photoelectrochemical response and electrochemical impedance behavior was investigated for passive film formed on sputter-deposited Cr alloy in $0.1kmol{\cdot}m^{-3}$. Photoelectrochemical action spectrum could be separated into two components, which were considered to be derived from $Cr_2O_3$ ($E_g\sim3.6eV$) and $ Cr(OH)_3 $ ($E_g\sim2.5eV$). The band gap energy, $E_g$, of each component was almost constant for various applied potentials. polarization periods and alloying additives. The photoelectrochemical response showed negative photo current for most potentials in the passive region. Therefore, the photo current apparently exhibited p-typesemiconductor behavior. On the other hand, Mort-Schottky plot of the capacitance showed positive slope, which means that passive film formed on Cr alloy has n-type semiconductor property. These apparently conflicting results are rationally explained assuming that the passive film on Cr alloy formed in the acid solution has n-type semiconductor property with a fairly deep donor level in the band gap and forms an accumulation layer in the most of potential region in the passive state.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.538-546
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• 1999

Ti(IV)-Fe(III) oxide films were formed by MOCVD technique, and their photoelectrochemical properties were examined in 0.5M N $a_2$$SO_4$ solution by a photoelectrochemical polarization test. Ti(IV)-Fe(III) oxide films deposited at 40$0^{\circ}C$ by MOCVD have crystalline structure and are all n-type semiconductors. The photocurrent and the quantum efficiency of the films increase with increasing the iron cationic fraction ($X_{Fe}$ ) in the films. The energy band gap of the films increase linearly with increasing the iron cationic fraction in the films. Ti(IV)-Fe(III) oxide film of $X_{Fe}$ /=0.60 has high photocurrent response and corrosion resistance simultaneously.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2016

The production of oxygen and hydrogen from solar water splitting has been considered to be an ultimate solution for energy and environmental issues, and over the past few years, nano-sized semiconducting metal oxides alone and with graphene have been shown to have great promise for use in photocatalytic water splitting. It is challenging to find ideal materials for photoelectrochemical water splitting, and these have limited commercial applicability due to critical factors, including their physico-chemical properties, the rate of charge-carrier recombination and limited light absorption. This review article discusses these main features, and recent research progress and major factors affect the performance of the water splitting reaction. The mechanism behind these interactions in transition metal oxides and graphene based nano-structured semiconductors upon illumination has been discussed in detail, and such characteristics are relevant to the design of materials with a superior photocatalytic response towards UV and visible light.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2010.06a
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• pp.87-87
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• 2010

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) systems are promising methods of producing H2 gas using solar energy in an aqueous solution. The photoelectrochemical properties of numerous metal oxides have been studied. Among them, the PEC systems based on TiO2 have been extensively studied. However, the drawback of a PEC system with TiO2 is that only ultraviolet (UV) light can be absorbed because of its large band gap (3.2 - 3.4 eV). Two approaches have been introduced in order to use PEC cells in the visible light region. The first method includes doping impurities, such as nitrogen, into TiO2, and this technique has been extensively studied in an attempt to narrow the band gap. In comparison, research on the second method, which includes visible light water splitting in molecular photosystems, has been slow. Mallouk et al. recently developed electrochemical water-splitting cells using the Ru(II) complex as the visible light photosensitizer. the dye-sensitized PEC cell consisted of a dye-sensitized TiO2 layer, a Pt counter electrode, and an aqueous solution between them. Under a visible light (< 3 eV) illumination, only the dye molecule absorbed the light and became excited because TiO2 had the wide band gap. The light absorption of the dye was followed by the transfer of an electron from the excited state (S*) of the dye to the conduction band (CB) of TiO2 and its subsequent transfer to the transparent conducting oxide (TCO). The electrons moved through the wire to the Pt, where the water reduction (or H2 evolution) occurred. The oxidized dye molecules caused the water oxidation because their HOMO level was below the H2O/O2 level. Organic dyes have been developed as metal-free alternatives to the Ru(II) complexes because of their tunable optical and electronic properties and low-cost manufacturing. Recently, organic dye molecules containing multi-branched, multi-anchoring groups have received a great deal of interest. In this work, tri-branched tri-anchoring organic dyes (Dye 2) were designed and applied to visible light water-splitting cells based on dye-sensitized TiO2 electrodes. Dye 2 had a molecular structure containing one donor (D) and three acceptor (A) groups, and each ended with an anchoring functionality. In comparison, mono-anchoring dyes (Dye 1) were also synthesized. The PEC response of the Dye 2-sensitized TiO2 film was much better than the Dye 1-sensitized or unsensitized TiO2 films.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.244-260
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• 2018

Issues in the electrical characterization of semiconducting photoanodes in a photoelectrochemical (PEC) cell, such as the cell geometry dependence, scan rate dependence in DC measurements, and the frequency dependence in AC measurements, are addressed, using the example of a $TiO_2$ photoanode. Contrary to conventional constant phase element (CPE) modeling, the capacitive behavior associated with Mott-Schottky (MS) response was successfully modeled by a Havriliak-Negami (HN) capacitance function-which allowed the determination of frequency-independent Schottky capacitance parameters to be explained by a trapping mechanism. Additional polarization can be successfully described by the parallel connection of a Bisquert transmission line (TL) model for the diffusion-recombination process in the nanostructured $TiO_2$ electrode. Instead of shunt CPEs generally employed for the non-ideal TL feature, TL models with ideal shunt capacitors can describe the experimental data in the presence of an infinite-length Warburg element as internal interfacial impedance - a characteristic suggested to be a generic feature of many electrochemical cells. Fully parametrized impedance spectra finally allow in-depth physicochemical interpretations.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.393-399
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• 2016

We have successfully fabricated 3D (3-dimensional) nanostructures of $TiO_2$ coated with a $g-C_3N_4$ layer via hydrothermal and sintering methods to enhance photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance. Due to the coupling of $TiO_2$ and $g-C_3N_4$, the nanostructures exhibited good performance as the higher conduction band of $g-C_3N_4$, which can be combined with $TiO_2$. To fabricate 3D nanostructures of $g-C_3N_4/TiO_2$, $TiO_2$ was first grown as a double layer structure on FTO (Fluorine-doped tin oxide) substrate at $150^{\circ}C$ for 3 h. After this, the $g-C_3N_4$ layer was coated on the $TiO_2$ film at $520^{\circ}C$ for 4 h. As-prepared samples were varied according to loading of melamine powder, with values of loading of 0.25 g, 0.5 g, 0.75 g, and 1 g. From SEM and TEM analysis, it was possible to clearly observe the 3D sample morphologies. From the PEC measurement, 0.5 g of $g-C_3N_4/TiO_2$ film was found to exhibit the highest current density of $0.12mA/cm^2$, along with a long-term stability of 5 h. Compared to the pristine $TiO_2$, and to the 0.25 g, 0.75 g, and 1 g $g-C_3N_4/TiO_2$ films, the 0.5 g of $g-C_3N_4/TiO_2$ sample was coated with a thin $g-C_3N_4$ layer that caused separation of the electrons and the holes; this led to a decreasing recombination. This unique structure can be used in photoelectrochemical applications.

• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.183-188
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• 2001

The deposition behavior and photoelectric response characteristics of chlorophyll a(Chl a) monolayers and multilayers were investigated under various film fabrication conditions. Chl a LB films were deposited onto quartz and pretreated ITO glass substrates under several fabrication conditions, including surface pressure and number of layers. The absorption spectra of Chl a in a solution state and solid-like state (LB films) were fairly consistent with each other, and two absorption peaks were found at 678 and 438nm, respectively. The prepared Chl a LB films were set into an electrochemistry cell equipped with a Pt plate as the counter electrode, and the photoelectric response characteristics were obtained and analyzed relative to the light illumination. By considering the resulting photocurrents, the optimal fabrication conditions for Chl a LB films were determined as 20mN/m of surface pressure and 20 layers. The action spectrum of the Chl a LB films was obtained in the visible region, and was found to be in good agreement with the absorption spectrum. The possible application of the proposed system as a constituent of an artificial color recognition device was suggested based on combining with the photoelectric conversion property of another light-sensitive biological pigment.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.25-33
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• 1992

With the aim to obtain $TiO_2$ films with an increased photorespones and absorbance in the visible region of the solar spectrum, the direct oxidation of titanium alloys were performed. In this study, $Ti-Ga_2O_3$ alloy was prepared by mixing, pressing and arc melting of appropriate amounts of titanium and $Ga_2O_3$ powder. Electrochemical measurements were performed in three electrode cell using electrolyte of 1M NaOH solution. The oxide films on $Ti-Ga_2O_3$ alloy was composed of $Ti_2O$, TiO, $TiO_2$, $Ga_2TiO_5$. The free energy efficiency (${\eta}e$) of $Ti-Ga_2O_3$ oxide films had 0.8~1.3 % and were increased with the increase of $Ga_2O_3$ content up to 10wt %. The onset potential ($V_{on}$) had -0.8V~0.9V ranges and were shifted to anodic direction with the increase of $Ga_2O_3$ content. The spectral response of Ti-$Ga_2O_3$ oxides were similar to the response of the $TiO_2$ and their $E_g$ were observed to 2.90~3.0eV. Variations of onset potential($V_{on}$) associated with electrolyte pH were -59mV/pH. This probably reflects the nature of the bonding of $OH^-$ ion to the $TiO_2$ surface, a common phenomena in the transition-metal oxides.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.29 no.12
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• pp.790-797
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• 2019

To improve photocatalytic performance, CdS nanoparticle deposited TiO₂ nanotubular photocatalysts are synthesized. The TiO₂ nanotube is fabricated by electrochemical anodization at a constant voltage of 60 V, and annealed at 500 for crystallization. The CdS nanoparticles on TiO₂ nanotubes are synthesized by successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction method. The surface characteristics and photocurrent responses of TNT/CdS photocatalysts are investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-Vis spectrometer and LED light source installed potentiostat. The bandgaps of the CdS deposited TiO₂ photocatalysts are gradually narrowed with increasing of amounts of deposited CdS nanoparticles, which enhances visible light absorption ability of composite photocatalysts. Enhanced photoelectrochemical performance is observed in the nanocomposite TiO₂ photocatalyst. However, the maximum photocurrent response and dye degradation efficiency are observed for TNT/CdS30 photocatalyst. The excellent photocatalytic performance of TNT/CdS30 catalyst can be ascribed to the synergistic effects of its better absorption ability of visible light region and efficient charge transport process.