Preparation and Studies of Nickel Sulfide Thin Films in the Presence of Sodium Tartrate as a Complexing Agent

Abstract

Cathodic electrodeposition in the presence of tartrate ions in aqueous solution was used to prepare nickel sulfide thin films deposited on titanium substrates. The effect of deposition potential and bath temperature was studied to determine the optimum condition for electrodeposition process. The thin films are characterized using X-ray diffractometry. The surface morphology studies were performed using scanning electron microscope. The photoactivity of the deposited films and their conduction types were evaluated using photoelectrochemical technique. The bandgap energy and type of optical transitions were determined from optical absorbance data. The film was found to exhibit direct transition in the visible spectrum with a bandgap value of about 1.30 eV.