Hydrogen generation from photocatalytic water splitting over TiO2 thin film prepared by electron beam-induced deposition

Abstract Photocatalytic TiO 2 thin films were prepared via an electron beam-induced deposition (EBID) method. The effects of post-calcination treatment on the properties of the prepared TiO 2 thin films were studied. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope-energy dispersive spectrometry (SEM-EDS), and UV–V is absorption spectrometry were performed to reveal the crystallinity, surface morphology, chemical composition, and light absorbance of the prepared TiO 2 thin films. The photoelectrochemical characteristics of the TiO 2 thin films were investigated with a potentiostat. Under UV irradiation, a photocurrent of ˜2.1 mA was observed for the TiO 2 thin film with post-calcination at 500 °C. A water-splitting reaction was conducted over the TiO 2 thin film with the best photoelectrochemical performance. The yields of hydrogen and oxygen were 59.8 and 30.6 μmole, respectively, after 8 h of reaction under UV irradiation.