Fabrication of Cu_2O/TiO_2 nanotube arrays with enhanced visible-light photoelectrocatalytic activity

摘要

A new electrochemical deposition process was developed to uniformly deposit Cu_2O nanoparticles on the matrix of TiO_2 nanotube (NT) arrays.The Cu_2O nanoparticles have a particle size about 20 nm grown both inside and outside of the nanotubes without blocking the pore openings as characterized using XRD,SEM,TEM,and EDS measurements.The Cu_2O/TiO_2NTs heterogeneous structures also effectively improve the visible-light absorption and response comparing to those of TiO_2NTs material.The photodegradation efficiency was increase by about 2.3 times on the Cu_2O-decorated TiO_2NTs materials as tested by degradation of methylene blue under simulated visible light.