Nanostructured TiO2 thin films sensitized by CeO2 as an inexpensive photoanode for enhanced photoactivity of water oxidation

Nanostructured CeO2/TiO2 bilayer thin films were fabricated by sequential deposition of CeO2 on TiO2 with varying the thickness of CeO2 using sol-gel spin-coating method. All samples were characterized by XRD, SEM, and UV-Visible absorption spectroscopy with an inspiration to use them as photoanode in photoelectrochemical splitting of water. The CeO2/TiO2 bilayer with the optimized thickness of CeO2 and TiO2 showed enhanced photoelectrochemical response of 2.1 mA cm-2 at 0.95 V/Ag/AgCl as compared to pristine CeO2 and TiO2. The improved photocurrent density of CeO2/TiO2 bilayer probably due to rapid transfer of charge carriers or electrical gradient at CeO2/TiO2 interface. This scalable and cost effective work with stable PEC performance of CeO2/TiO2 also shows the potential for realistic PEC applications.