Effect of conductive substrate (working electrode) on the morphology of electrodeposited Cu2O

Cu2O thin fims were electrodeposited from a Cu(II) acetate solution containing 0.02 MCopper(II) acetate (Cu(OAc)2) and 0.1 Msodium acetate (NaOAc) at pH 5.6, using threedifferent working conductive electrodes with approximately the same square resistance-indium doped tin oxide glass (ITO/Glass), florine-doped tin oxide glass (FTO/Glass), andIndium doped tin oxide Polyethylene terephthalate (ITO/PET)—under identical conditionsusing a common growth condition. The Cu2O thin fims werecharacterized by meansofscanning electron microscopy (SEM), x-raydiffraction (XRD),current density versusgrowth time for Cu2O fims, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The resultsshowed that the choice of substratematerials hasa crucial role in controlling of Cu2O growth.The charge transfer resistance (Rct) of FTO/Glass-Cu2O exhibits the lowest value; thismeans that FTO/Glass-Cu2O possess the highest electron transfer effiiency.All Cu2O fimsshowed n-type semiconductor characteristic with charge carrier densities varying between1.4 × 1018–1.2 × 1019 cm−3.