Effect of electron beam irradiation on EIS and photoelectrochemical performance of electrodeposited nanocrystalline Bi2Te3 thin films

In this research work, we have synthesized nanocrystalline Bi2Te3 thin films for photoelectrochemical (PEC) solar cell application by potentiostatic electrodeposition method on stainless steel substrates. Subsequently films were irradiated with electron beam irradiation (EBI) of energy 4.5 MeV at various doses of irradiation ranging from 10 to 50 kGy. The experimental results showed that synthesized Bi2Te3 thin films having polycrystalline nature and rhombohedral crystal structure with momentous morphological digression through various doses of irradiation. The electrochemical active surface area (ECSA) and photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance of Bi2Te3 thin films were improved well at irradiation dose of 40 kGy. The calculated values of photoconversion efficiency and fill factor for Bi2Te3 thin film were found to be 0.1837% and 0.5383, respectively. The values of photoconversion efficiency and fill factor of same electrode before irradiation have values 0.0987% and 0.3979, respectively. The enhancement in efficiency and fill factor due to EBI were found 53% and 74%, respectively. The enhancement in PEC properties is due to increased active surface area of the Bi2Te3 films after irradiation dose. The results showed that, EBI are capable to strengthen the quality of electrode for PEC solar cell application.