Bilayer coatings consisting of a CeO2 inner layer and a TiO2 outer layer were made on copper substrates (Cu vertical bar CeO(2)vertical bar TiO2) and the photoelectrochemical properties of the derived bilayered photoelectrodes for corrosion protection application was investigated and compared with the performance of our previously studied Sb - SnO2 - TiO2 bilayered photoelectrodes coating for similar applications. TiO2 and CeO2 sols were used for preparing the coatings. Investigations on the charge storage capacity of the two different bilayered coatings revealed that the Sb - SnO2 - TiO2 system is capable of storing higher charge at less negative applied potentials, i. e., -600 mV vs SCE, whereas, the CeO2 - TiO2 system stores higher charge at more negative applied potentials, i. e., - 900 mV vs SCE. (c) 2005 The Electrochemical Society.