Pulsed Laser Deposition of Ruthenium Oxide Thin Films for Electrocatalytic Splitting of Water for Oxygen and Hydrogen Evolution Reactions*

This presentation reports the synthesis, structural characterization and evaluation of electrocatalytic properties of crystalline ruthenium oxide (RuO2) thin films. The films were grown

using Pulsed Laser Deposition technique on a variety of single-crystal substrates, sapphire (Al2O3) and titanium dioxide (TiO2) while varying oxygen pressures from 5mTorr to 50mTorr, and

substrate temperatures from 400°C to 700°C. The films were structurally characterized using xray diffraction, x-ray photon spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Cyclic-voltammetry and Linear-sweep-voltammetry were also measured and used to evaluate the electrochemical properties during OER, with the aim of providing insights into role crystal structure and surface orientation on the electrochemical properties of the films.