Growth and characterization of anodic films on scandium

The anodic behavior of Sc in a slightly alkaline aqueous solution is studied. Electrochemical and capacitance measurements suggest that passive films can be formed on the scandium surface under a high electric field. The formation of these layers occurs at low faradaic efficiency due to oxygen evolution. Photoelectrochemical experiments suggest the formation of a barrier layer with a thickness high enough to hinder external electron photoemission processes and allow the estimation of the bandgap of the films as a function of their formation voltage. The estimated bandgap values were lower than that reported for Sc2O3, suggesting the formation of hydrated phases and/or of a strongly oxygen deficient oxide