Effect of applied potential on the optical and electrical properties of CuCoO.

The effect of the applied potential on the crystallography, morphology, optical, and electrical properties of copper-cobalt oxide (CuCoO) co-electrodeposited on ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) substrate has been studied. The electrochemical behavior of CuCoO using cyclic voltammetry showed that the co-electrodeposition of CuCoO occurred at a negative potential of - 0.70 V versus SCE, following a quasi-reversible reaction controlled by the diffusion process. Chronoamperometry (CA) revealed that the nucleation and growth mechanism of CuCoO follows the instantaneous three-dimensional process according to Scharifker and Hill model. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis indicated that the resulting layers at different applied potentials exhibited an orthorhombic structure with a preferred orientation of the crystallites (011) plan. The morphology of the surface changes with potential applied. Furthermore, the optical properties of the copper and cobalt oxide films were investigated using UV-visible spectroscopy; showing that the band gap energy for all the materials increases when the applied potential decreases. The CuCoO layers obtained are p-type semiconductors. The acceptor density (N) increases with decreasing applied potential.