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Problem with pipette method
Submitted by Megan on Thu, 07/17/2008 - 10:34
We've been experimenting with the pipetting method suggested earlier. We recently fired an FTO that had been deposited with 5 uL drops of 0.01M metal oxides in water acidified to pH 5 with nitric acid. When the substrate was placed in the NaOH electrolyte, one of the drops visibly fell off. Has anyone else experienced this problem? Any suggestions?
Darn Departing Drops
Hi Megan,
I was worried that this would happen with our drops when we tried the pipet method, but ours all stayed put. It sounds like your drop really detached and fell off rather than dissolving, right?
We didn't do anything to change the pH of our metal nitrate solutions - they were all pretty acidic to begin with. We did anneal our slide for about 3-4 hours at 500 C. Maybe a longer annealing time helps the oxides adhere better?
Even though our drops stayed put, they didn't give any photocurrent repsonse. We have recently gotten our printer working again, so we're back to the printing method for now. Keep us all posted about how your scan turns out.
-Anne