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Fabrication of ZnFe2O4/TiO2 nanotube array composite to harness the augmented photocurrent density under visible light

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Abstract

ZnFe2O4 micro crystals were deposited over electrochemically anodized TiO2 nanotube array using cathodic electrode deposition method. TiO2 nanotubes owing to their morphological advantage significantly harness the UV region of solar spectrum. However, the optical response of TiO2 nanotube array in visible region is quite negligible due to large band gap. Bare TiO2 nanotubes show a photocurrent density of 0.18 mAcm−2 on exposing TiO2 nanotube electrode to visible light source. However, on mounting ZnFe2O4 over TiO2 nanotubes, the photocurrent density reaches to 0.52 mAcm−2, which is ~ 3 times the photocurrent density shown by bare TiO2 nanotubes under similar conditions. The appreciable enhancement in photocurrent density is attributed to effective visible light active band gap in the resulting hybrid electrode. Moreover, the suitable band edge positions in individual semiconductors facilitate the smooth charge transfer in the resulting hybrid structure on account of band bending at their interface thereby reduces the recombination rate and charge transfer resistance considerably.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to Dr. Somnath C. Roy (ENL, IIT Madras) and Prof. M. S. Ramachandra Rao (MSRC IIT Madras) research group for their kind support. We are too thankful to Mohd. Azhardin Ganayee (Research Scholar at Prof. T. Pradeeps lab, IIT Madras) for his technical and emotional support. Finally, we would like to extend our gratitude to DST funded Nanomission lab in NIT Srinagar for the part of the experimental work we performed herein.

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  1. Special Centre for Nano-science, P.G. Department of Physics, National Institute of Technology, Srinagar, 190006, Jammu and Kashmir, India

    Muzaffar Ahmad Boda & Mohammad Ashraf Shah

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  1. Muzaffar Ahmad Boda
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Correspondence to Muzaffar Ahmad Boda.

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Boda, M.A., Shah, M.A. Fabrication of ZnFe2O4/TiO2 nanotube array composite to harness the augmented photocurrent density under visible light. Appl. Phys. A 124, 55 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-017-1485-1

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