Simple electrochemical method for the preparation of a highly oriented and highly photoactive α-PbO film

Highly oriented (110 plane parallel to the substrate) and highly photoactive α-PbO films are prepared by electrochemical anodic oxidation of Pb electrode in alkaline solution at 80 °C by polarizing at +0.3 V versus saturated calomel electrode. Within an hour of anodization, nearly 10–12 μm thick oxide film is produced which is found to be exclusively α-PbO with a preferred orientation along the 110 plane. The films show about 80% quantum efficiency and 1.55% solar to electrical energy conversion efficiency for white-light irradiation in a liquid junction solar cell containing 0.1 M Fe(CN)3−/4−6 redox solution. These values are the highest reported so far for lead oxide thin-film based solar cells.