Growth of Cerium(IV) Oxide Films by the Electrochemical Generation of Base Method.

Cerium(IV) oxide films were deposited electrochemically on 430 stainless steel and (100)-oriented highly doped degenerate p-type single-crystal silicon in aqueous solution by the electrogeneration of base method. The as-prepared films were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy. The results demonstrated that the as-deposited material was faceted cerium oxide with the fluorite structure. Grain size of the film was found to increase from 6 to 16 nm when the bath temperature varied from 26 to 80 degrees C, but to decrease from 18 to 6 nm when the applied current density increased from 0.5 to 3.0 mA cm(-2). The films were observed to have no preferred orientation.