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Morphology‐controlled Electrodeposition of Copper Nanospheres onto FTO for Enhanced Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production
Author(s) -
He Jieyun,
Feng Heshan,
Wang Ting,
Wang Tingting,
Zeng Heping
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
chinese journal of chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.28
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1614-7065
pISSN - 1001-604X
DOI - 10.1002/cjoc.201700344
Subject(s) - x ray photoelectron spectroscopy , photocatalysis , chemistry , scanning electron microscope , copper , raman spectroscopy , transmission electron microscopy , chemical engineering , hydrogen production , diffuse reflectance infrared fourier transform , energy dispersive x ray spectroscopy , spectroscopy , nanotechnology , nuclear chemistry , hydrogen , catalysis , materials science , composite material , optics , organic chemistry , physics , quantum mechanics , engineering
Using CuSO 4 as the copper source, nanostructured copper with four different morphologies was obtained by electrodeposition method on FTO substrates. The as‐synthesized Cu/FTO samples were characterized by X‐ray diffraction (XRD), diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), Raman, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (EDS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The effects of electrodeposition potential and electrodeposition time on the Cu/FTO samples and the photocatalytic performance were investigated systematically. The results showed that the Cu/FTO samples were well‐crystallized and the morphologies could be changed from nanoslices to nanodendrites structure with the negative shift of the depositing potential. The electrodeposition potential and time have a significant effect on the amount of H 2 evolution. The obtained Cu nanospheres which were prepared at the potential of −0.65 V for 600 s showed the best photocatalytic behavior. The mechanisms for the photocatalytic activities were also discussed.