Photocatalytic properties of molybdenum oxide photoelectrode synthesized by spray pyrolysis method.

The present work reports the photoelectrocatalytic properties of pyrolyzed molybdenum oxide thin film. Microstructural analysis revealed clustered nanoaggregates. Structural analysis showed a polycrystalline α -MoO3 phase. The crystallite size, dislocation density, microstrain, and stacking faults were found to be 41.27 nm, 5.87 × 10−4 lines/cm2, 8.41 × 10−4 and 1.78, respectively. The optical bandgap was found to be 3.20 eV. Linear sweep voltammetry measurement in 1 M KOH electrolyte revealed a significant photocurrent density of 992.39 μA/cm2 at a bias of 1.2 V versus Ag/AgCl (1.4 V vs. RHE). The reasonable performance of the device suggests that the rarely deployed spray pyrolysis method is promising for preparing photoactive α -MoO3 films for photoelectrochemical measurement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]