Cathodic electrodeposition of TiO2 thin films for dye-sensitized photoelectrochemical applications

A convenient - and quick to realize - approach for cathodic electrodepositi on of TiO2 films is suggested. Scanning electron microscopic examination of the resultant films reveals the formation of mesoporous TiO2. Since dye-se nsitized photoelectrochemical investigations on cathodically electrocieposi ted TiO2 films are hitherto unreported, we performed such investigations by sensitizing our mesoporous TiO2 films with cis-bis(4,4'-dicarboxy-2,2'-bip yridine)bis(thiocyanato)ruthenium(II). The preliminary studies exhibit inci dent photon-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE) above 35% in the first attempt.