Preparation of Size-Quantized ZnS Thin Films Using Electrochemical Atomic Layer Epitaxy and Their Photoelectrochemical Properties

Size-quantized ZnS thin films were prepared by sequential underpotential deposition of S and Zn on Au{111} substrates. Observations of the high-resolution electron microscope and the energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometer revealed that ZnS films were epitaxially deposited on the Au{111} facet with a stoichiometric composition. The scanning tunneling microscope images showed that the surface of the prepared films was flat in an atomic level and no large protrusion was contained, while etch pits with the height of the monatomic step of Au{111}, which were formed in the UPD of the first S layer on the naked Au surface, were seen through ZnS films with independence of the number of ZnS layers deposited. The ZnS film-deposited Au electrodes showed anodic photocurrents in an aqueous solution containing triethanolamine as a sacrificial electron donor. The energy gap determined from the action spectra decreased with an increase of the film thickness up to ca. 15.5 ZnS layers at which the bulk band gap was obtained.