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

Photocatalytic TiO2 thin films were prepared via an electron beam-induced deposition (EBID) method. The effects of post-calcination treatment on the properties of the prepared TiO2 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 TiO2 thin films. The photoelectrochemical characteristics of the TiO2 thin films were investigated with a potentiostat. Under UV irradiation, a photocurrent of ˜2.1 mA was observed for the TiO2 thin film with post-calcination at 500 °C. A water-splitting reaction was conducted over the TiO2 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.