Preparation and photoelectrochemical characterisation of electrosynthesised titanium dioxide deposits on stainless steel substrates

TiO2 films on stainless steel 304 substrates have been prepared from acidic aqueous solutions of TiOSO4 and H2O2 by room temperature potentiostatic cathodic electrosynthesis. Coatings of varied thickness were produced by repeating the deposition step two or three times accompanied by drying steps in between. The resulting gel films were annealed at 400 °C to obtain crystalline TiO2 (anatase) films with loadings in the 0.1–1 mg cm−2 range. The deposits had a macro-particulate structure and adhered well on stainless steel 304. The electroactive surface area of the composite electrodes was estimated by cyclic voltammetry in the dark, while their photoelectrochemical behaviour was investigated by photo-voltammetry under UV illumination, both in the presence and absence of oxidizable organics. The effect of deposit thickness on photocurrent and an indicative comparison of electrosynthesised TiO2/stainless steel 304 photoelectrodes with thermal and particulate TiO2/Ti electrodes are also presented.