A comparison is made of the photoelectrochemical properties of in two forms: as polycrystalline sintered compacts and as amorphous thin films prepared by RF sputtering. There is no essential difference in optical bandgaps, Mott‐Schottky intercepts, band‐edge positions, and optical absorption spectra. For the photo‐oxidation of water, the difference between instantaneous and steady‐state photocurrents is much larger for the amorphous than for crystalline form, which indicates a difference in the density and/or effectiveness of surface states. This difference between instantaneous and steady‐state currents disappears, for both amorphous and crystalline , on adding the redox couple to the solution. The dark current of the amorphous form is larger, and its quantum efficiency in the ultraviolet is smaller.
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Benko et al. (1985) studied this question.