Laser-induced crystallization of anodic TiO<sub>2</sub>nanotube layers
Hanna Sopha, Inam Mirza, Hana Turčičová, David Pavliňák, Jan Michalička, Miloš Krbal, Jhonatan Rodríguez‐Pereira, Luděk Hromádko, Ondřej Novák, Jiří Mužík, Martin Smrž, Eva Kolíbalová, Nathan T. Goodfriend, Nadezhda M. Bulgakova, Tomáš Mocek, Jan M. Macák
Abstract
nanotube (TNT) layers upon optimized laser annealing is shown. The resulting anatase TNT layers do not show any signs of deformation or melting. The crystallinity of the laser annealed TNT layers was investigated using X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The study of the (photo-)electrochemical properties showed that the laser annealed TNT layers were more defective than conventional TNT layers annealed in a muffle oven at 400 °C, resulting in a higher charge recombination rate and lower photocurrent response. However, a lower overpotential for hydrogen evolution reaction was observed for the laser annealed TNT layer compared to the oven annealed TNT layer.