Effect of Sputtering Power on Microstucture and Electrochemical Characteristic of Nickel Films Deposited by Magnetron Sputtering

Nickel (Ni) film electrodes were deposited onto FTO by the magnetron sputtering method. The influence of sputtering power on the morphology and electrochemical performances of the as-prepared films has been investigated in this work. The surface crystal structure and morphology of the prepared films were investigated by using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results have shown that with the increase of the sputtering power from 80 W to 140 W, the increases of the film surface roughness and porosity. The films deposited at sputtering power of 140 W possess the highest specific surface area and abundant pore structure, leading to better electrochemical performance of Ni film.