Home

Search

Collections

Journals

About

Contact us

My IOPscience

Junction effects of p-Cu2O photocathode with layers of hole transfer sites (Au) and electron
transfer sites (NiO) at the electrolyte interface

This content has been downloaded from IOPscience. Please scroll down to see the full text.
2001 Semicond. Sci. Technol. 16 433
(http://iopscience.iop.org/0268-1242/16/6/303)
View the table of contents for this issue, or go to the journal homepage for more

Download details:
IP Address: 129.186.1.55
This content was downloaded on 15/10/2014 at 11:39

Please note that terms and conditions apply.

INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS PUBLISHING

SEMICONDUCTOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Semicond. Sci. Technol. 16 (2001) 433439

www.iop.org/Journals/ss

PII: S0268-1242(01)17440-7

Junction effects of p-Cu2O photocathode

with layers of hole transfer sites (Au) and
electron transfer sites (NiO) at the
electrolyte interface
C A N Fernando1,5 , L A A De Silva2 , R M Mehra3 and
K Takahashi4
1

Department of Physics, University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka

Department of Physics, University of Cincinnati, USA
3
Department of Electronic Science, University of Delhi South Campus, New Delhi, India
4
Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Technology, Kanazawa
University, Japan
2

E-mail: nandanaf@cc.ruh.ac.lk (CAN Fernando)

Received 26 September 2000, in final form 13 February 2001, accepted for

publication 27 February 2001
Abstract
A well cleaned copper plate with a thin Au layer deposited was heated in air
to make hole transfer sites with p-Cu2 O at 800 C for 3 min. A transparent
NiO layer was prepared on the surface of this device to make electron
transfer sites on the surface. This heat-treated device, having 2 m Au
layers, exhibited a remarkably stable steady photocurrent and a higher
photocurrent quantum efficiency in a KI(102 M) + I2 (104 M) electrolyte
solution when a thin transparent 0.05 m NiO layer was deposited on the
surface to screen the electrolyte. During the heating of the Au-deposited
copper plate at 800 C for 3 min, initially an alloy of Cu and Au was
produced, then a thin homogeneous p-Cu2 O film was formed on the alloy by
oxidizing the migrated Cu atoms onto the upper surface of the alloy.
Characteristics of the samples observed by means of XRD measurements
and SEM micrographs, V I characteristics, photocurrent action spectra, the
variations of the photocurrent quantum efficiency with the deposited
thickness of NiO and Au layers, photodegradation and improved chemical
stability of the p-Cu2 O photocathode and H2 evolution from water by the
photocathode were investigated to explain the junction effects of the
modified p-Cu2 O with the Cu + Au alloy and NiO transparent film at the
electrolyte interface. Here, the NiO layer and Au particles in the Au + Cu
alloy efficiently act as the electron-transfer and hole-transfer sites,
respectively.

1. Introduction
Systems for solar energy conversion have attracted a great deal
of interest [14]. Most of the semiconductors having suitable
narrow bandgaps such as Si, GaAs, InP and CdTe cannot be
used as photoelectrodes because of photocorrosion of these
materials in aqueous electrolytes [57]. Besides selecting
5

Corresponding author.

0268-1242/01/060433+07$30.00

2001 IOP Publishing Ltd

the suitable biased potential with respect to a reference

electrode and choosing suitable redox species with the best
concentrations, electrocatalytical metal submonolayers [810]
such as ITO are useful to protect the photoelectrodes from
the photocorrosion [11]. Suppression of the photocorrosion
of the semiconductor material in aqueous electrolytes is a
very important factor to obtain correct experimental results
and to explain the results accurately. An excellent coating
material has to exhibit high optical transparency and collect the

Printed in the UK

433

C A N Fernando et al

photogenerated carriers efficiently from the semiconductor as

photogenerated carrier transfer sites. Specially, if the device
operates in an electrolyte, the coating material and the junctions
formed by the coating material with the semiconductor must
be stable under illumination and in the dark. One type
of photogenerated carrier (electrons or holes) must cross
the extremely stable protective film which makes contact
with the semiconductor to oxidize or reduce species in the
electrolyte [11] at the protective materialelectrolyte interface.
Cu2 O is considered to be an attractive material for
photovoltaic energy conversion because it absorbs visible light
due to a proper bandgap (2.0 eV). This attractive material
for fabricating photocells has a high absorption coefficient,
for which an energy conversion efficiency over 10% is
theoretically possible [12]. However, the efficiency of solar
cells containing p-Cu2 O, prepared by thermally oxidizing
Cu sheets in air, was almost 12% [12, 13]. These thin
films can be prepared by using various methods such as
thermal treatment, sputtering and chemical treatment [12].
Recently, it was reported that the photodegradation of the
thermally prepared p-Cu2 O electrodes could be suppressed
by depositing trace quantities of platinum on the p-Cu2 O
in aqueous electrolytes [3]. The main disadvantage of this
system was the poor transparency of the black platinum islets
deposited by photochemical techniques. It is well known that
Au and NiO have the ability to act as hole transfer sites and
electron transfer sites respectively [20].
This paper reports the improvement of the stability and
the junction effects in KI(102 M) + I2 (104 M) electrolyte
medium where p-Cu2 O films are modified by (Au + Cu) alloy
and a transparent NiO film. Here NiO acts as both the front
protective layer and the electron transfer sites for the p-Cu2 O
photoelectrode, and Au particles on the Cu + Au alloy play a
vital role as hole transfer sites separating the photogenerated
carriers, suppressing the recombination of the photogenerated
carriers. It is well known that Au particles can act as good hole
transfer sites when particles contact with a semiconductor [20].
During the heating process Cu atoms migrate towards the Au
layer and form a (Au + Cu) alloy. For the upper surface of the
alloy, O2 migration is higher than that for the middle of the
alloy. Cu atoms migrating on the surface of the alloy oxidize
and form a very thin Au layer on (Au + Cu) alloy, since the
(Au + Cu) alloy must be in electronic equilibrium.
Junction effects of the device p-Cu2 O with Au + Cu
and NiO in the electrolyte medium are discussed from
characteristics of the samples in terms of XRD measurements
and SEM micrographs, V I characteristics, photocurrent
action spectra, the variations of the photocurrent quantum
efficiency % with thickness of NiO and Au layers and
suppression of the photodegradation and improved stability
of p-Cu2 O in KI + I2 electrolyte.

1.5 mPa inside the evaporation chamber and 30 C on the

substrate. The gold-deposited copper plate was heated in air
at 800 C for 3 min. After heating, Ni was deposited on the
p-Cu2 O at a very slow deposition rate (0.18 m h1 ) to prevent
the formation of pin holes on the surface of the photocathode.
To obtain NiO, the Ni-deposited samples were heated at 400 C
for 30 min in air [14]. It is well known that an alloy of Au and
Cu is produced (maybe Cu3 Au) very easily around 800 C [18].
Samples with various thicknesses of Au and NiO layers were
prepared to clarify the mechanisms.

2. Experimental details

3. Results and discussion

2.1. Sample preparation

3.1. Sample characterization with XRD and SEM

First, mechanically polished copper plates (2 cm2 cm, 99.9%

purity) were cleaned ultrasonically to make photocathodes.
Photocathodes were prepared by the following method. Gold
was deposited on a well cleaned copper plate maintaining

Figure 1 shows the XRD spectra for the two samples prepared
from the heat-treatment of copper plates with different
thicknesses of Au layers. Distinct XRD peaks appeared for
Cu, Cu2 O and Cu + Au alloy only when the thickness of the

434

2.2. Measurements
A D 5000 XRD instrument (Siemens Company/Germany)
and a JEOL JSM 840 scanning microscope were used for
the sample characterization. The thicknesses of the Au and
Ni layers was measured by a CRTM-1000 ULVAC (Japan)
probe. This probe used a quartz oscillator to monitor the
layer thickness during the evaporation. Cross sectional SEM
pictures were used to measure the thicknesses of the Au
layer before heating, the Au + Cu layer, the Ni layer before
heating and the NiO layer after heating the Ni layer as
independent measurements. According to these measurements
the thickness of the Au layer before heating and the thickness
of (Au + Cu) alloy after heating are very similar. Furthermore,
the thickness of the Ni layer before heating and the thickness
of the NiO layer after heating are very similar. It is therefore
reasonable to assume that the thicknesses of the Au layer and
Ni layer are similar to the thicknesses of the (Au + Cu) alloy
and NiO layers respectively.
The chemicals used for the experiments were Analar
grade. Electrolyte solution used for the measurements was
KI(102 M) + I2 (104 M) aqueous solution. The photocurrent
was measured by the conventional potentiostatic method with
a three-electrode configuration (a Hokuto Denko HA-151
potentiostat was used). A Pt wire was used as the counterelectrode. A Ag/AgCl electrode was used as the reference
electrode. The light source was a 750 W halogen lamp with
a Toshiba IRA filter. A JASCO CT-10 monochromator was
used to measure the photocurrent action spectra. Potential
variations were carried out by using a Hokuto-Denko HA104 function generator with scan rate 10 mV s1 . Ar
gas (99.9%) was used to purge the electrolyte solution.
For the measurements of H2 evolution, before irradiation,
the corresponding cell was fully covered, preventing air
from outside from dissolving into the electrolyte medium.
The amount of H2 evolution from the photoelectrodes was
determined using gas chromatography. Photocurrent quantum
efficiency (%) is defined as
% = (No of electrons generated/No of photons incident)
100.

Junction effects of p-Cu2 O photocathode with layers of hole transfer sites (Au) and electron transfer sites (NiO) at the electrolyte interface

Figure 1. XRD spectra for a modified p-Cu2 O photoelectrode.

(a) The layer thickness of Au is 0.5 m. (b) The layer thickness of
Au is 2.0 m. (c) The layer thicknesses of Au and NiO are 2 and
0.5 m respectively.

Au layer was nearly 2.0 m or larger than 2.0 m, as shown

in figure 1(b).
When the Au layer is larger than 2.0 m O2 migration
towards the Cu substrate is minute, so the migration of Cu
towards the Au layer supports formation of (Au + Cu) alloy.
The XRD spectrum for the samples prepared from the copper
plates with 0.5 m Au layers does not show any peak for Cu
+ Au alloy, as shown in figure 1(a), possibly due to the rapid
migration of O2 towards the Cu substrate to form Cu2 O without
forming alloy. Figure 1(c) shows the XRD spectrum for the
modified p-Cu2 O with 2 m Au and 0.05 m transparent NiO.
The spectrum confirms the formation of Cu + Au alloy and NiO
films with p-Cu2 O.
Figure 2 shows the SEM micrographs of the surface of the
Au-deposited copper plates after heating at 800 C for 3 min.
The surface of the sample made from the 0.5 m Au layer
clearly contains cracks as shown in figure 2(a). This surface
is similar to the surface of bare p-Cu2 O. In this case, it does
not form the (Au + Cu) alloy due to rapid migration of O2 to
oxidize the Cu substrate. The formed Cu2 O layer may cover
the Au particles. The sheet resistance of figure 2(a) is similar
to the surface resistance of the device in figure 2(b) and bare
p-Cu2 O as shown in the table.
However, the SEM picture for the surface of the samples
made from 2.0 m Au layers does not show any cracks as

Figure 2. SEM micrographs for modified p-Cu2 O electrode.

(a) The layer thickness of Au is 0.5 m. (b) The layer thickness of
Au is 2.0 m.

shown in figure 2(b), where the surface was covered with small
crystallites of p-Cu2 O. For the samples prepared from 2.0 m
Au layers, the oxidation of the copper substrate is more difficult
since the homogeneous Cu + Au alloy on the surface prevents
the penetration of oxygen inside the copper substrate, so, in
the heating process, copper atoms may migrate first towards
Au forming Cu + Au alloy, then copper atoms on the surface
of the alloy may be oxidized due to rapid migration of O2 on
the surface of the alloy to form a very thin homogeneous Cu2 O
layer, a very thin Au layer remaining on the (Au + Cu) alloy
immediately underneath the Cu2 O layer, since the (Au + Cu)
alloy must be in electronic equilibrium.
Another reason to form small homogeneous crystallites
of Cu2 O for the samples prepared from 2.0 m Au and the
cracked surface for the samples from 0.5 m may be due to
the large thermal mismatch between Cu and Cu2 O, and the
smaller thermal mismatch between (Au + Cu) and Cu2 O.
The cross section of the sample is schematically
represented in figure 3. Sheet resistivity measurements
were made for various photoelectrodes and tabulated as
experimental evidence to support the schematic structure
in figure 3. The sheet resistivities for the device shown
435

C A N Fernando et al

Figure 3. Schematic structure of the modified p-Cu2 O electrode

prepared from 2 m Au layer thickness.

in figures 2(a) and (b) are similar to the sheet resistivity

(1025
cm2 ) of p-Cu2 O prepared by heating a copper plate
at 800 C for 3 min in air, confirming that the small particles
seen in figure 2(b) are not Au particles (sheet resistivity
0.41
cm2 ) (table 1). The temperature of oxidation of
Au-deposited copper plates increases and the sheet resistivity
changes towards the sheet resistivity of p-Cu2 O prepared by
heating a bare copper substrate.
In case of the samples prepared from thinner 0.5 m Au
layers, O2 can migrate faster towards the copper substrate
during the heating process to oxidize the copper substrate
directly, so the surface behaves like a bare p-Cu2 O surface
as shown in figure 2(a). Here, it is important to mention that
chemically and mechanically stable films were obtained for the
samples prepared from the 2 m Au layers in the electrolyte
medium.
3.2. V I characteristics
V I characteristics of the photocathodes in KI(102 M) +
I2 (104 M) solutions are shown in figure 4. V I characteristics
for the bare p-Cu2 O (curve a) and the modified electrode with
the alloy and the semi-transparent film of the 0.05 m NiO
layer (dotted curve) are very similar under dark conditions.
In the anodic region, the photocurrent increases exponentially
due to anodic dissolution. It should be mentioned that in the
cathodic region some areas show a zero dark current, as shown
in figure 4. Under irradiation, the photocurrent was increased
only at cathodic potentials. Clearly a considerable increase in
the photocurrent appear for the modified electrode with Cu +
Au and NiO charge transfer sites (curve d) compared to the
bare p-Cu2 O (curve b) and p-Cu2 O with 2.0 m Cu + Au alloy
(curve c). Although the number of photogenerated transient
carriers are nearly equal for the bare and modified p-Cu2 O
electrodes, the charge separation of these carriers may occur
more easily from the charge transfer sites for the modified
electrode, so the charge separation of the photogenerated
electrons and holes may be the key factor for the photocurrent
enhancement. The onset potentials observed from each system
are nearly the same.
3.3. Photocurrent action spectra
Photocurrent action spectra for various devices are shown in
figure 5. The spectral response of bare p-Cu2 O (curve a) has a
photocurrent maximum. It is known that the p-Cu2 O prepared
on copper substrates by heating in air has a very thin spacecharge layer [16], so higher-energy photons, larger than the
bandgap energy of p-Cu2 O, are absorbed in a very thin surface
436

Figure 4. V I characteristics in KI(102 M) + I2 (104 M) solution.

Under dark conditions: (a) bare p-Cu2 O, dotted curve, the modified
electrode with 2.0 m Au layer and 0.05 m NiO thin film. Under
white light illumination at 250 W cm 2 intensity by
halogentungsten lamp: (b) bare p-Cu2 O; (c) p-Cu2 O electrode with
2.0 m Au layer; (d) modified p-Cu2 O electrode with 2.0 m Au
layer and 0.05 m NiO thin film.

layer of p-Cu2 O. Since the concentration of the free carriers

(both electrons and holes) inside the surface layer becomes
very high, the recombination may occur easily, resulting in
their short lifetime [17]. This photocurrent maximum hardly
appears in the photocurrent action spectra of the modified
photocathode. Au particles on the (Cu + Au) alloy and
NiO charge transfer sites collect the photogenerated holes and
electrons, suppressing the recombination due to the in-built
electric fields provided at the metalsemiconductor junctions
compared with that of the bare electrode. Furthermore, the
NiO layer can provide multi-reflection within the structure to
enhance the photocurrent. Even for higher-energy photons,
larger than the bandgap energy created, a large number of
photogenerated carriers are separated quickly, resulting in the
photocurrent enhancement.
3.4. Variation of photocurrent quantum efficiency with layer
thickness of NiO and (Cu + Au) alloy
Figure 6(a) curve I shows the photocurrent quantum efficiency
of p-Cu2 O photoelectrodes made from various thicknesses of
Au layers. The photocurrent is optimized when the thickness
of the Au layer is nearly 2.0 m. Homogeneous thin films of
Cu2 O were obtained for the sample made from the 2.0 m Au
layer, as shown in the SEM picture in figure 2(b). Samples
made from thicker Au layers (larger than 3 m) are not
mechanically stable in the electrolyte medium even under dark
conditions. These films are loosely bound to the substrate.
Figure 6(b) curve I shows the photocurrent quantum efficiency
of p-Cu2 O electrodes with various NiO film thicknesses. The
photocurrent is optimized with the 0.05 m NiO layer since the
thicker NiO layer prevents injection of photons into p-Cu2 O.
When a thin semi-transparent NiO film of 0.05 m is deposited
on the p-Cu2 O prepared from various layer thicknesses of
Au, a photocurrent enhancement can be observed as shown

Junction effects of p-Cu2 O photocathode with layers of hole transfer sites (Au) and electron transfer sites (NiO) at the electrolyte interface

Table 1. Sheet resistivity for various photoelectrodes.

Device

Sheet resistivity
cm2

Copper plate
Au-coated (2 m) copper plate
p-Cu2 O prepared on copper substrate at 800 C for 3 min
Au-coated (0.5 m) copper plate at 800 C for 3 min (SEM figure 2(a))
Au-coated (2 m) copper plate at 300 C for 3 min
Au-coated (2 m) copper plate at 500 C for 3 min
Au-coated (2 m) copper plate at 800 C for 3 min (SEM figure 2(b))

102
0.41
1205
1195
500
900
1200

Figure 5. Photocurrent action spectra under the electrode potential

of 0.15 V versus AgCl/Ag in KI(102 M) + I2 (104 M) solution.
(a) Bare p-Cu2 O. (b) p-Cu2 O electrode with 2 m Au layer.
(c) Modified p-Cu2 O electrode with 2 m Au layer and 0.05 m
NiO thin film.

in figure 6(a) curve II. For a sample prepared from 2 m

Au layer thickness, the photocurrent quantum efficiency has
a maximum for the 0.05 m NiO film as shown in figure 6(b)
curve II. From these measurements, to make a quality device,
the suitable thicknesses of Au and NiO layers are 2.0 and
0.05 m, respectively.
3.5. Photodegradation and improved stability
It is interesting to report that a chemically stable enhanced
photocurrent was obtained for modified p-Cu2 O with a 2 m
Au layer and the NiO 0.05 m semi-transparent film in
KI(102 M) + I2 (104 M) aqueous solution, as shown in
figure 7 curve a. This can be explained as follows. Since
cuprous oxide is a p-type semiconductor, the photogenerated

Figure 6. Dependence of photocurrent quantum efficiency on layer

thicknesses of Au (a) and NiO (b), at 430 nm. The curves I and II in
part (a) are for the p-Cu2 O electrode without and with the 0.05 m
NiO thin film, respectively. The curves I and II in part (b) are for the
p-Cu2 O electrode without and with the 2 m Au layer, respectively.

electrons react with I

3 ions in the solution, i.e.
I3 + 2e 3I .

(1)

The produced I ions release the electrons to the Pt counterelectrode, regenerating I

3 ions.
3I I3 + 2e .

(2)

The main corrosion mechanisms related to p-Cu2 O in the presence of electrolyte media can be presented as follows [15, 19].
437

C A N Fernando et al

Figure 7. Time dependence of the photocurrent in

KI(102 M) + I2 (104 M) solution. The electrode potential of
p-Cu2 O was controlled at 0.15 V versus Ag/AgCl and white light
of a 250 W cm2 intensity halogen tungsten lamp was used.
(a) Modified p-Cu2 O electrode with a 2 m Au layer and a 0.05 m
NiO thin film. (b) p-Cu2 O electrode with a 0.05 m NiO thin film.
(c) p-Cu2 O electrode with a 2 m Au layer. (d) Bare p-Cu2 O
electrode.

In acidic media (3)

2H+ +2e +Cu2 O 2Cu + H2 O.

(3)

In basic media (18)

Cu2 O + 2OH +2h+ 2CuO + H2 O.

(4)

One way to suppress the reactions (3) and (4) is for the pCu2 O to be covered using a protective layer. Since the NiO
layer covers the surface of the p-Cu2 O electrode and collects
the photogenerated electrons from p-Cu2 O, reaction rates of
photocorrosion processes are suppressed. The systems having
thin NiO films screened against the electrolyte show considerably More stable photocurrents (curves a and b in figure 7).
A remarkable enhancement of the steady photocurrent was
observed for the modified p-Cu2 O photocathode with 2 m
Cu + Au alloy and 0.05 m NiO semi-transparent thin film.
Any dissolutions of Ni or Cu ions were not significant in the
electrolyte during the illumination as checked with an atomic
spectrophotometer, since the junctions are extremely stable in
the electrolyte. However, bare p-Cu2 O (curve d) and p-Cu2 O
prepared with 2 m Au (curve c) directly contact with the
electrolyte, so considerable decay of the photocurrent can be
observed due to the photocorrosion of p-Cu2 O, presented from
reactions (3) and (4).
Figure 8 shows the time dependence of the total amount
of evolved H2 in aqueous solutions containing KI + I2
electrolyte with different p-Cu2 O photoelectrodes. The
electrode potential of the photocathode was controlled at
0.15 V versus AgCl/Ag (flat band potential +0.1 V versus
AgCl/Ag). Under dark conditions, no H2 evolution can be
detected. It is interesting to report that a considerable rate of
H2 evolution can be detected for the system with the modified
p-Cu2 O electrode with the two layers of 2 m Au + Cu alloy
and 0.05 m NiO (curve a). The systems having thin films
of NiO screened against the electrolyte show a saturation of
438

Figure 8. Time dependence of the total H2 evolution rate in

KI(103 M) + I2 (104 M) aqueous solution. The electrodes
corresponding to plots of (a), (b), (c) and (d) are the same as in
figure 7. Furthermore, the other conditions are also the same as in
figure 7.

the H2 evolution (curves a and b). However, in the case of

the photoelectrodes where the p-Cu2 O substrate is screened
against the electrolyte, the rate of H2 production decreases
gradually after 30 min illumination (curves c and d). Since NiO
covers the p-Cu2 O layer from the electrolyte medium chemical
dissolution of p-Cu2 O does not occur, so a saturation of H2
generation can be observed. When the p-Cu2 O substrate is
exposed to the electrolyte chemical dissolution can take place;
then the rate of H2 production decreases gradually after 30 min
illumination (curve c and d).
Figure 9 shows the cyclic profile for H2 evolution rate,
where the system was degassed in a 30 min cycle with Ar to
purge the evolved H2 . In case of the modified photocathode
device with 2 m Cu + Au alloy and 0.05 m NiO layers,
the saturation value for each cycle was constant (a), due
to suppression of the photodegradation of Cu2 O. In the
case of bare p-Cu2 O without the protective NiO layer, a
gradual decrease of the saturation values was observed due
to the chemical dissolution of Cu2 O as explained from the
reactions (3) and (4). These observations imply that the
covered NiO layer behaved as a stable protective layer for the
Cu2 O.

4. Conclusions
We have shown that an enhanced steady photocurrent was
obtained for the modified p-Cu2 O electrode, which was a
copper plate covered with 2 m Au and 0.05 m NiO layers.
Here, the NiO layer acts as a protective layer and an efficient
electron transfer site to prevent the photodegradation and the
chemical dissolution of p-Cu2 O in the electrolyte medium.
Further, Au particles on the Au + Cu alloy act as efficient
hole transfer sites. Junction effects due to the efficient
charge separation of the modified device were discussed
by photocurrent action spectra, V I characteristics, and the
dependence of the photocurrent on the thicknesses of the
Au and NiO layers. XRD spectra and SEM micrographs

Junction effects of p-Cu2 O photocathode with layers of hole transfer sites (Au) and electron transfer sites (NiO) at the electrolyte interface

and Professor P C Mathur and Miss Vivechana Agrawal,

Department of Electronic Studies Delhi University South
Campus, for great support. My sincere thanks to the Natural
Science Foundation (NFS) for the nomination to participate in
this programme under the grant RG/96/p/05 under university
approval. Mr U K L Bogahawatha, Physics Department,
Ruhuna University, is acknowledged for providing technical
assistance. Ruhuna University Research Fund also receives
our thanks.

References

Figure 9. The variation of the H2 evolution rate with cycles of

30 min. Measurement conditions are the same as in figure 8.
(a) The modified electrode with 2 m Au film and 0.05 m NiO
thin film. (b) Bare p-Cu2 O electrode.

were employed to understand the behaviour of the materials

prepared with various layer thicknesses of Au and NiO.

Acknowledgments
Special thanks to International Centre for Theoretical Physics,
Italy, for the invitation to participate in the Semiconductor
Science TechnologyTraining Programme 1997 for Young
Scientists held in India, Department of Electronics South
Campus, University of New Delhi, under the supervision of
Dr R M Mehra, Dr Shukla for the measurements of SEM
and XRD in the (USIC) Instrument Centre Delhi University

[1] Olsen L C and Bohara R C 1979 J. Appl. Phys. Lett. 1 34

[2] Berrezin A A and Weichman F L 1981 Solid State Commun.
37 157
[3] Tennakone K, Fernando C A N, Kariapper M S and
Dewasurendra M 1986 J. Appl. Phys. D 19 125
[4] Beckmann H K and Meming R 1969 J. Electrochem. Soc. 116
368
[5] Gerischer H 1978 J. Vac. Sci. Technol. 15 1422
[6] Meming R 1980 Electrochim. Acta 25 77
[7] Frese K W, Madou M J and Morrision S R 1980 J. Phys.
Chem. 84 3172
[8] Alloungue P and Cachet H 1984 J. Electrochem. Soc. 131 2861
[9] Nakato Y, Ueda K, Yano H and Tsubomura H 1988 J. Phys.
Chem. 92 2316
[10] Allongue P, Souteyrad E and Allemand L 1989 J. Electrochem.
Soc. 136 1027
[11] Campert G, Puprichitkun C and Sun Z W 1989 J. Electroanal.
Chem. 269 435
[12] Economou N A, Toth R S, Komp R J and Trivich D 1977
Photovoltaic solar cells of electrodeposited cuprous oxide
Proc. Eur. Community Photovoltaic Solar Energy
Conversion Conf. (Luxembourg) p 1180
[13] Trivich D, Ywang E, Komp R J and Kakar A S 1978 Cuprous
oxide photovoltaic cells 13th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialist
Conf. p 174
[14] Maruyama T and Arai S 1993 Solar Energy Mater. Solar Cells
30 257
[15] Beckmann H K and Meming R M 1969 J. Electrochem. Soc.
116 368
[16] Fink G and Adler E 1941 79th General Meeting Electrochem.
Soc. vol 19, p 377
[17] Polyakov A M (ed) 1985 Semiconductor Made Simple
(Moscow: Mir)
[18] Myers M P (ed) 1990 Solid State Physics (London: Taylor and
Francis)
[19] Jongh P E, Vanmaekelberg D and Kelly J J 1999 Chem.
Commun. 1070 1069
[20] Mills A and Porter G 1982 J. Chem. Soc. Faraday Trans. I 78
3659

439