Search results for "BAND"
showing 10 items of 2610 documents
The Influence of Thermal Treatment on the Electronic Properties of a-Nb2O5
2009
The effect of thermal treatments for 1h at 250{degree sign}C in air or under vacuum on the electronic structure of thick amorphous anodic niobia was characterized by electrochemical impedance, differential admittance (DA) and photocurrent spectroscopy (PCS). The analysis of anodized niobia has revealed that it behaves as a pure dielectric. The thermal treatment in air increases the value of the differential capacitance of the niobia sample. The effect is stronger when the thermal treatment is carried out in vacuum and can be cancelled out by reanodizing the oxide to the initial formation potential. In the case of thermally vacuum-treated sample, a behavior typical of semiconducting amorphou…
Photoelectrochemical study on anodic aluminum oxide films. Internal photoemission processes at the metal-oxide interface
1991
A photoelectrochemical investigation has been carried out on aluminum oxide films grown anodically at constant rate up to different thicknesses. Depending on the potential both anodic and cathodic photocurrents were observed at photon energies well below the optical bandgap expected for these layers. This finding is explained with the presence of internal photoinjection processes both for electrons and holes from the base metal into the oxide film. The analysis of the photocurrent spectra has given the threshold energies for both processes. The effect of the image force at the metal/oxide interface has been taken into account in order to derive the mobility gap of the films and the energeti…
The influence of nitrogen incorporation on the optical properties of anodic Ta2O5
2012
Abstract Anodic oxides were grown on sputter-deposited Ta in different aqueous solutions. A photoelectrochemical investigation was performed in order to estimate the band gap of the films as a function of the anodizing bath composition and formation voltage, i.e. thickness. Photoelectrochemical results provided evidence of sub-band gap photocurrent for films formed in a bath containing ammonium ions at pH 9. Elemental depth profiles obtained by glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy revealed the presence of nitrogen species in the outer part of the anodic films, which is bonded to Ta according to XPS analysis. A mechanism of nitrogen incorporation is proposed in order to account for t…
A photoelectrochemical study on anodic tantalum oxide films
1993
Both anodic and cathodic photocurrents have been detected on tantalum oxide films depending on polarization. The optical band gap, E g opt , has been derived for anodic films grown in different conditions as well as for native oxides. Cathodic photocurrents at hv<E g opt have been attributed to electron injection at the metal/oxide interface. A change in the sign of the photocurrent with the wavelength of the incident light has been observed near to the flat band potential. The latter has been estimated from the fitting of the photocurrent vs potential curves
Photoelectrochemical study of electrochemically formed semiconducting yttrium hydride (YH3−x)
1999
Abstract The first photoelectrochemical study of semiconducting YH 3− x films formed by etching bulk Y metal in 0.5 M H 2 SO 4 solution is reported. The formation of semiconducting hydride having an indirect optical band gap, E g opt , of about 2.35 eV is confirmed by in situ photocurrent spectroscopy. The photoelectrochemical behaviour of such a phase was investigated both in alkaline and in acidic solutions. The flat band potential was estimated to be U fb =−1.25 V/NHE, independent of pH.
Initial Surface Film on Magnesium Metal. A Characterization by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Photocurrent Spectroscopy (PCS)
2007
Abstract A detailed investigation of the initial film grown on mechanically polished Mg electrodes has been carried out by ex situ X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and in situ Photocurrent Spectroscopy (PCS), allowing to reach a detailed picture of the passive layer structure. The XPS data show that the films formed soon after mechanical treatment and immersion in aqueous electrolyte have a bilayer structure, consisting of an ultra-thin MgO inner layer (∼2.5 nm) and a Mg(OH) 2 external layer. The thickness of the Mg(OH) 2 layer is a function of immersion time and solution temperature. After mechanical treatment and immersion in aqueous solution at room temperature, the MgO/Mg(OH) 2 la…
Semiempirical Correlation between Optical Band Gap Values of Oxides and the Difference of Electronegativity of the Elements. Its Importance for a Qua…
1997
A semiempirical correlation between the optical band gap of binary oxides and the difference of electronegativity between the oxygen and metallic elements (Pauling's extraionic energy) is proposed. In the frame of the proposed correlation an estimate of the repulsive term in the total lattice energy of ionic oxides is obtained in very good agreement with the existing data. An extension of the correlation to the ternary oxides and hydroxides is proposed by using the concept of average cationic or anionic group electronegativity. The usefulness of the proposed correlation for the in situ characterization of passive films on metals and alloys by photocurrent spectroscopy is illustrated by repo…
Growth and Characterization of Anodic Films on Al-Nb Alloys
2006
Abstract The anodizing behaviours of sputtering-deposited aluminium, niobium and Al-Nb alloys, containing 0.4, 7.5, 21, 40 and 55 at.% niobium, have been examined in 0.1 M ammonium pentaborate electrolyte with interest in the morphology, structure and electronic properties of the anodic oxides. Transmission electron microscopy revealed amorphous oxides, containing units of Nb2O5 and Al2O3, with formation ratios intermediate between those of anodic alumina and anodic niobia. Photocurrent spectroscopy provided increased understanding of the electronic properties of the anodic films, suggesting the formation of “mixed oxides” with insulating behaviours. The estimated band gap values are correl…
A Simple Model for the Photoelectrochemical Behavior of Corrosion Layers with Variable Hydration Degree
2002
Abstract With the goal of quantitatively applying photocurrent spectroscopy to corrosion studies, the photoelectrochemical behavior of layered passive films having a decreasing hydration/hydroxylation degree, from the solution interface toward the metal interface, has been modeled. The model makes use of the correlations between optical gap and electronegativity of the constituents previously proposed for surface oxides and hydroxides. In this paper, the model was tested successfully against the experimental data pertaining to three high band gap insulating oxide-forming metals, like Zr, Al, and Y. In the first case, the fitting of the experimental spectra was compatible with the occurrence…
Influences of Structure and Composition on the Photoelectrochemical Behaviour of Anodic Films on Zr and Zr-20at.%Ti
2008
Abstract A photoelectrochemical investigation on anodic films of different thickness grown on sputter-deposited Zr and Zr–20 at.%Ti was carried out. The estimated optical band gap and flat band potential of thick ( U F ≥ 50 V) anodic films were related to their crystalline structure and compared with those obtained for thinner ( U F ≤ 8 V/SCE) anodic oxides having undetermined crystalline structure. The E g values obtained by photocurrent spectroscopy were also compared with the experimental band gap estimated by other optical ex situ techniques and with the available theoretical estimates of the zirconia electronic structures in an attempt to reconcile the wide range of band gap data rep…