Optical and optoelectronic properties of morphology and structure controlled ZnO, CdO and PbO thin films deposited by electric field directed aerosol assisted CVD

A simple and convenient electric field directed aerosol assisted chemical vapor deposition method is developed for the deposition of morphology and structure controlled thin films of ZnO, CdO and PbO with enhanced visible light photoelectrochemical activity. The films are generated from commonly available metal acetates solution in THF at 400 °C. The FESEM/EDX, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, UV–Vis spectrophotometry was carried out to investigate morphology, structure, stoichiometry and optical band gap of the fabricated films. The photelctrochemical properties investigated in the presence of 0.1 M Na₂SO₄ of the as-produced ZnO, CdO and PbO thin films show current densities of 207, 263, 237 and 1.55, 215, 1.67 µA cm⁻² in light and dark respectively. These results show a slight improvement in photocurrent density of the films prepared under the influence of electric field as compared to the films deposited in the absence of electric field. This difference may have arisen due to compact structure and uniform morphology created under the influence of electric field.