Preparation, characterization and photoelectrochemical properties of hydrophilic Sn doped TiO2 nanostructures

• Hydrophilic TiO2 nanostructures have been fabricated using a sol–gel method and the influence of Sn content on structural, wettability and photoelectrochemical properties is studied.
• The contact angle of TiO2 nanostructures varied between 19° and 37° depending upon the Sn content.
• All the samples are photoelectrochemically active; on Sn doping nanostructured films presented superior photoelectrochemical properties than that of the pure TiO2.

Hydrophilic Sn doped TiO2 nanostructured thin films have been fabricated using a sol–gel method, and followed by calcination at 450 °C. The samples are characterized by means of XRD, Raman, SEM and contact angle measurements. The XRD and Raman studies revealed that, the higher Sn doping content (3 at%) leads to the formation of mixed phases of TiO2. SEM micrographs revealed that all samples are porous in nature. The contact angle of TiO2 nanostructured films varied between 19° and 37° depending upon the Sn content. All the samples are photoelectrochemically active and 2% Sn doping significantly enhances the photoelectrochemical ability of TiO2 film. The highest photocurrent density of 20 µA cm−2 is measured for 2 at% Sn doped TiO2 in 0.2 M Na2SO4 electrolyte, on light irradiation. Time dependent photoresponse tests have been carried out by measuring the photocurrent under chopped light irradiation.