Optical and Photocatalytic Properties of Cu x S/ZnO Composite Thin Films Deposited by Robotic Spray Pyrolysis Deposition

[摘要] This article reports on VIS-active composite thin films based on zinc oxide (ZnO) and copper sulfide (Cu x S) deposited using robotic spray pyrolysis deposition (SPD) for the study of the optical and photocatalytic properties. The first step involves the SPD deposition of a Cu x S layer onto the glass substrate at 300°C. The second step consists of the deposition of a ZnO layer onto the Cu x S layer to form glass/Cu x S-ZnO composites that were further annealed at 400°C. The development of the composite thin films was confirmed by XRD and EDX analyses. The band gap energy ( ) of the bare ZnO thin films decreased from 3.15 eV to an activation energy value of 2.8 eV after the deposition of the ZnO thin layer onto the Cu x S layer and from 2.8 to 2.08 eV after annealing the Cu x S-ZnO composite at 400°C. The UV-VIS irradiation (5.5% of UV, ) of a 10 ppm methylene blue solution was used to investigate the photocatalytic properties of the Cu x S-ZnO composites. The annealed Cu x S-ZnO thin films at 400°C demonstrates better photocatalytic activity compared to Cu x S-ZnO composites deposited at 300°C. The enhanced photocatalytic efficiency of the annealed Cu x S-ZnO thin films may be the result of the diode structure and the increased crystallinity that prevent the electron-hole recombination.

[学科分类] 泌尿医学