Photoactive WO3 and Se-WO3 thin films for photoelectrochemical oxidation of organic compounds.

Thin films of bare and Se-contg. tungsten trioxide (WO3) on AISI 304-type stainless steel were prepd. by electrochem. deposition using peroxy-tungstate solns. The obtained films were characterized by X-ray diffraction, photoelectron spectroscopy, SEM, thermal and photovoltammetry analyses. The oxidn. of methylene blue, phenol, and methanol was used to evaluate the photoelectrocatalytic activity of the prepd. films. It has been established that the incident photon-to-current efficiency (IPCE) in 0.1-M K2SO4 decreases as the concn. of methylene blue and phenol increases. On the contrary, the IPCE values increase with the increase in initial concn. of methanol. The bulk electrolysis expts. revealed that the prepd. films are stable and can be used for photoelectrochem. oxidn. of methanol. [on SciFinder(R)]