Cathodic electrodeposition of cadmium oxide, zinc oxide and mixed cadmium oxide-zinc oxide thin films

Cadmium oxide (CdO) and (CdO)x(ZnO)1-x mixed semiconductor films were cathodically electrodeposited for the first time on F-doped SnO2 substrates. The CdO thin films were deposited from an aqueous 0.1 M KCl medium containing dissolved Cd2+ species and O2. The (CdO)x(ZnO)1-x mixed oxide films were deposited from a bath which contained Zn2+ in addition to the CdO bath constituents. Films were potentiostatically deposited at 80°C followed by a post-deposition thermal anneal at 450°C. The mechanism of the electrodeposition was explored using cyclic voltammetry. These samples were then analyzed by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and UV-visible reflectance spectrophotometry. The photoelectrochemical behavior of these films is also presented. ZnO electrodeposition was carried out as a prelude to the main topic of this thesis research.