Influence of Au Sputtered in ZnO/Au/PANI Heterostructures Film for Photoelectrochemical Cells

A heterostructure system based on zinc oxide (ZnO), Gold (Au), and polyaniline polymer (PANI) nanoparticles has been developed to provide an efficient and effective photoelectrochemical energy conversion system. The ZnO/Au/PANI heterostructure system promotes Au as a mediator for electron transfer from the PANI conduction band to the ZnO valence band. A state of electrons being excited has resulted in the photons' charge transfer, which accumulated in ZnO and the holes concentrated in PANI. In this study, we investigated the effect of the deposition time of Au on ZnO/Au/PANI film on photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance. ZnO/Au/PANI films were prepared using spin-coating and DC-Sputtering methods for Au deposition. We found that the effect deposition time of Au in the ZnO/Au/PANI film heterostructural system shows good reduction-oxidation and photocatalytic activity due to the vibration of O-H bond groups in the film.