Growth and Post-Deposition Treatments of SrTiO3 Films for Dye-Sensitized Photoelectrosynthesis Cell Applications

Sensitized SrTiO3 films were evaluated as potential photoanodes for dye-sensitized photoelectrosynthesis cells (DSPECs). The SrTiO3 films were grown via pulsed laser deposition (PLD) on a transparent conducting oxide (fluorine-doped tin oxide, FTO) substrate, annealed, and then loaded with zinc(II) 5,10,15-tris(mesityl)-20-[(dihydroxyphosphoryl)phenyl] porphyrin (MPZnP). When paired with a platinum wire counter electrode and an Ag/AgCl reference electrode these sensitized films exhibited photocurrent densities on the order of 350 nA/cm(2) under 0 V applied bias conditions versus a normal hydrogen electrode (NHE) and 75 mW/cm(2) illumination at a wavelength of 445 nm. The conditions of the post-deposition annealing step-namely, a high-temperature reducing atmosphere-proved to be the most important growth parameters for increasing photocurrent in these electrodes.