Formation of thin film like assembly of exfoliated C3N4 nanoflakes by solvent non-evaporative method using centrifuge

摘要

A simple method for depositing a thin film of nanomaterial on a substrate using centrifugation technique has been developed, whereby solvent evaporation is prevented and solvent reuse is possible. The centrifuge technique of deposition yields uniform, smooth thin film irrespective of substrate surface texture. The deposited TiO2/eC(3)N(4) film studied, through field emission scanning electron microscope, atomic force microscope, and optical surface profilometer, shows variation in surface roughness on the basis of centrifugation speeds. Initially film coverage improves and surface roughness decreases with the increase in rpm of the centrifuge and the surface roughness slightly increases with further increase in rpm. The photoelectrochemical studies of TiO2/eC(3)N(4) films suggest that the centrifuge technique forms better heterojunctions compared to that by spin coating technique leading to enhanced photoelectrochemical water splitting. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.