Synthesis and characterization of polythiophene-modified TiO(2) nanotube arrays

The highly ordered and uniform TiO2 nanotube arrays were fabricated by anodic oxidation method and PTh(polythiophene)/TiO2 nanotube arrays electrode were obtained by electrochemical polymerization. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed the formation of TiO2 phase. The morphologies and optical characteristics of the TiO2 nanotube arrays were studied by scanning electron microscope (SEM), UV-Vis absorption spectra and Raman spectra. The results demonstrate that the PTh/TiO2 electrode could enlarge the visible light absorption region and increase the photocurrent in visible region. The modified TiO2 electrode with light-to-electric energy conversion efficiency of 1·46%, the short-circuit current density of 4·52 mAcm − 2, open-circuit voltage of 0·74 V and fill factor of 0·44, were obtained.