Photoactive TiO2 coatings obtained by Plasma Electrolytic Oxidation in refrigerated electrolytes

[Display omitted] •Submicrometric TiO2 coatings by Plasma Electrolytic Oxidation.•TiO2 high photoactivity in the UV range.•Low temperature oxidation.•Short processing times with respect to traditional anodic oxidation. The effect of synthesis conditions on the properties of nanoporous TiO2 coatings obtained by PEO in refrigerated electrolytes have been investigated. Linear sweep voltammetry was carried out on the TiO2 coatings, in dark and under UV-C irradiation, in order to assess the photoelectrochemical behavior of samples. The largest photocurrents (0.18mA/cm2) were measured on TiO2 coatings obtained by PEO in refrigerated aqueous solutions. UV–vis spectra revealed that lowering the processing temperature from 20 to −3.5°C induced a blue-shift of the absorption band of the TiO2 coatings from 3.05 to 3.42eV. The main advantage of PEO in refrigerated aqueous solutions over current approaches, based on anodic oxidation and thermal treatments, is that the synthesis of photoactive TiO2 coatings can be carried out in a relatively easy, quick and reproducible way, without annealing pre- and post-treatments. Furthermore, by controlling the solution temperature in PEO process, the photocurrent of the resulting TiO2 coating reaches quite high values.