Abstract
TiO2 nanotube (TNT) arrays were fabricated by anodic oxidation of titanium foil in a fluoridebased solution, on which Cu2O particles were loaded via galvanostatic pulse electrodeposition in cupric acetate solutions in the absence of any other additives. The structure and optical properties of Cu2O-loaded TiO2 nanotube arrays (Cu2O-TNTs) were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and UV-Vis absorption, and the photoelectrochemical performance was measured using an electrochemical work station with a three-electrode configuration. The results show that the Cu2O particles distribute uniformly on the highly ordered anatase TiO2 nanotube arrays. The morphologies of Cu2O crystals change from branched, truncated octahedrons to dispersive single octahedrons with increasing deposition current densities. The Cu2OTNTs exhibited remarkable visible light responses with obvious visible light absorption and greatly enhanced visible light photoelectrochemical performance. The I–V characteristics under visible light irradiation show a distinct plateau in the region between approximately −0.3 and 0 V, resulting in higher open-circuit voltages and larger short-circuit currents with increased Cu2O deposition.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
S Iijima. Helical Microtubules of Graphitic Carbon[J]. Nature, 1991, 354(6348): 56–58
S P Albu, A Ghicov, J M Macak, et al. Self-organized, Free-standing TiO2 Nanotube Membrane for Flow-through Photocatalytic Applications[J]. Nano Lett., 2007, 7(5): 1 286–1 289
Z Y Liu, X T Zhang, S Nishimoto, et al. Efficient Photocatalytic Degradation of Gaseous Acetaldehyde by Highly Ordered TiO2 Nanotube Arrays[J]. Environ. Sci. Technol., 2008, 42(22): 8 547–8 551
L K Tan, M K Kumar, H Gao, et al. Transparent, Well-aligned TiO2 Nanotube Arrays with Controllable Dimensions on Glass Substrates for Photocatalytic Applications[J]. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 2010, 2(2): 498–503
Z H Xu, J G Yu, G Liu. Enhancement of Ethanol Electrooxidation on Plasmonic Au/TiO2 Nanotube Arrays[J]. Electrochem. Commun., 2011, 13(11): 1 260–1 263
J H Park, S Kim, A J Bard. Novel Carbon-doped TiO2 Nanotube Arrays with High Aspect Ratios for Efficient Solar Water Splitting[J]. Nano Lett., 2006, 6(1): 24–28
G K Mor, K Shankar, C A Grimes, et al. Use of Highly-ordered TiO2 Nanotube Arrays in Dye-sensitized Solar Cells[J]. Nano Lett., 2006, 6(2): 215–218
C C Tsai, H Teng. Regulation of the Physical Characteristics of Titania Nanotube Aggregates Synthesized from Hydrothermal Treatment[J]. Chem. Mater., 2004, 16(22): 4 352–4 358
D A Wang, F Zhou, Y Liu, et al. Synthesis and Characterization of Anatase TiO2 Nanotubes with Uniform Diameter from Titanium Powder[J]. Mater. Lett., 2008, 62(12-13): 1 819–1 822
R A Caruso, J H Schattka, A Greiner. Titanium Dioxide Tubes from Sol-gel Coating of Electrospun Polymer Fibers[J]. Adv. Mater., 2001, 13(20): 1 577–1 579
J H Jung, H Kobayashi, S Shinkai, et al. Creation of Novel Helical Ribbon and Double-layered Nanotube TiO2 Structures Using an Organogel Template[J]. Chem. Mater., 2002, 14(4): 1 445–1 447
D W Gong, C A Grimes, O K Varghese, et al. Titanium Oxide Nanotube Arrays Prepared by Anodic Oxidation[J]. J. Mater. Res., 2001, 16(12): 3 331–3 334
G K Mor, O K Varghese, M Paulose, et al. Fabrication of Tapered, Conical-shaped Titania Nanotubes[J]. J. Mater. Res., 2003, 18(11): 2 588–2 593
X Quan, S G Yang, X L Ruan, et al. Preparation of Titania Nanotubes and Their Environmental Applications as Electrode[J]. Environ. Sci. Technol., 2005, 39(10): 3 770–3 775
A E Rakhshani. Preparation, Characteristics and Photovoltaic Properties of Cuprous Oxide—a Review[J]. Solid State Electron., 1986, 29(1): 7–17
P E de Jongh, D Vanmaekelbergh, J J Kelly. Photoelectrochemistry of Electrodeposited Cu2O[J]. Electrochemi. Soc., 2000, 147(2): 486–489
T Mahalingam, G Ravi, J P Chu, et al. Characterization of Pulse Plated Cu2O Thin Films[J]. Surf. Coat. Tech., 2003, 168(2–3): 111–114
Y Hou, X Y Li, G H Chen, et al. Photoelectrocatalytic Activity of a Cu2O-loaded Self-organized Highly Oriented TiO2 Nanotube Array Electrode for 4-Chlorophenol Degradation[J]. Environ. Sci. Technol., 2009, 43(3): 858–863
G K Mor, O K Varghese, C A Grimes, et al. Transparent Highly Ordered TiO2 Nanotube Arrays via Anodization of Titanium Thin Films[J]. Adv. Funct. Mater., 2005, 15(8): 1 291–1 296
L Huang, S Zhang, F Peng, et al. Electrodeposition Preparation of Octahedral-Cu2O-loaded TiO2 Nanotube Arrays for Visible Lightdriven Photocatalysis[J]. Scripta Mater., 2010, 63(2): 159–161
J G Yu, Y Hai, M Jaroniec. Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production over CuO-modified Titania[J]. J. Colloid Interface Sci., 2011, 357(1): 223–228
J G Yu, J R Ran. Facile Preparation and Enhanced Photocatalytic H2-production Activity of Cu(OH)2 Cluster Modified TiO2[J]. Energy Environ. Sci., 2011, 4(4), 1 364–1 371
Z H Xu, J G Yu. Visible-light-induced Photoelectrochemical Behaviors of Fe-modified TiO2 Nanotube Arrays[J]. Nanoscale, 2011, 3(8): 3 138–3 144
S Y Kuang, S L Luo, Q Y Cai, et al. Fabrication, Characterization and Photoelectrochemical Properties of Fe2O3 Modified TiO2 Nanotube Arrays[J]. Appl. Surf. Sci., 2009, 255(16): 7 385–7 388
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51175363), the Youth Staff Fund of Taiyuan University of Technology (Nos. K201016, K201013), the Specialized Fund for Innovative of College Students of Taiyuan City (No. 09122018), the Program for Changjiang Scholar and Innovative Research Team in University (No. IRT0972)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Li, G., Liang, W., Xue, J. et al. Electrochemical preparation and photoelectric properties of Cu2O-loaded TiO2 nanotube arrays. J. Wuhan Univ. Technol.-Mat. Sci. Edit. 29, 23–28 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11595-014-0861-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11595-014-0861-3