Electrodeposition of n-type Cuprous Oxide Thin Films

Abstract

Cuprous oxide (Cu2O) is generally a p-type semiconductor material due to the Cu ion vacancies exist in the crystal lattice. The technique of electrodeposition provides the possibility of depositing Cu2O thin films resulting n-type photoresponses in solar cell devices. By maintaining pH values of the depositing aqueous acetate bath in an appropriate range, Cu2O thin films can be potentiostatically electrodeposited. Single phase Cu2O polycrystalline films can be obtained using this technique. The n-type behavior and the quality of the Cu2O films produced by this technique are demonstrated by the photocurrent, capacitance-voltage, SEM and XRD measurements. Existence of oxygen vacancies in the n-Cu2O films is evident from the photoluminescence measurements. Possibility of using these films in low cost solar cell devices is demonstrated after establishing the n-Cu2O/p-CuxS hetero junction by sulphiding Cu2O thin films.

TiO2@Cu2O n-n Type Heterostructures for Photochemistry

“…The photoanode based on TiO 2 modified with copper(I) oxide in a photoelectrochemical cell requires a directed flow of electrons from the anode to the cathode, which means that processes occurring according to the Z-scheme can be difficult. As mentioned before, n-type conductivity of Cu 2 O in the form of layers obtained by the electrodeposition is well known in the literature [43,44]. In this work, n-type conductivity both for Cu 2 O and TiO 2 @Cu 2 O was proved based on both PEC current-voltage characteristics and Mott-Schottky plots.…”

Enhancement in NO2 and H2-Sensing Performance of CuxO/TiO2 Nanotubes Arrays Sensors Prepared by Electrodeposition Synthesis

“…It was demonstrated from Hall measurement that the n-type conductivity behavior of Cu x O thin films may be due to the existence of oxygen vacancies as reported by [27][28][29][30], they also used the electrodeposition method. Moreover, many researchers such as Jayakody, W. Siripala & Kumara, W. P. Siripala, and Wijesundera et al, concluded that n-type Cu 2 O thin films can be synthesized on conducting substrates using the electrodeposition method [31][32][33][34]. They reported that the origin of this n-type behavior of the electrodeposited films is due to oxygen vacancies and/or additional copper atoms, and indicated that it is a consequence of strong Cu 2 O absorption of an unstable surface state defective on copper formed over the p-Cu 2 O surface, leading to an inversion layer that shows n-type conduction behavior [35][36].…”

Electrodeposition of Phase–Pure n–Type Cu2O: Role of Electrode Reactions and Local pH

“…24 In contrast, Han et al have disputed Nian's perspective via photocurrent studies of Cu 2 O films. 19 Another contention with the synthesis of n-type Cu 2 O, at least in a few studies, is the presence of Cu impurities in Cu 2 O thin films synthesized through electrodeposition at higher negative potentials; 19,25,26 the n-type conductivity could arise from such inter-connected Cu impurities.…”