Evaluation of nanostructured S-doped TiO2 thin films and their photoelectrochemical application as photoanode for corrosion protection of 304 stainless steel

Undoped and S-doped TiO2 thin films were prepared on titanium substrate through a sol–gel method. The photoelectrochemical behavior of S-doped TiO2 thin film (as photoanode) was studied. The effect of Sulfur doping on structural, optical and morphological properties of TiO2 was studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), FT-IR, UV–ViS and FE-SEM. Superiority of the S-doped TiO2 film was shown through taking advantage of linear sweep voltametry measurement, open-circuit potential of 304 stainless steel as well as potetiodynamic polarization technique. Results showed that S-doped TiO2 thin film is an efficient photoanode with long term stability (several hours).