Abstract
The ITO (indium tin oxide) conductive glass-matrix CuS-GeO2-TiO2 composite coating was generated via EPD (electrophoretic deposition) and followed by a sintering treatment at 450°C for 40 minutes. Characterizations of the CuS-GeO2-TiO2 composite coating were taken by SEM (scanning electron microscope), XRD (X-ray diffraction), EDX (energy dispersive X-ray), UV-Vis DRS (ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflection spectrum), and FT-IR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy). Results showed that CuS and GeO2 had dispersed in this CuS-GeO2-TiO2 composite coating (mass percentages for CuS and GeO2 were 1.23% and 2.79%, respectively). The electrochemical studies (cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and Tafel polarization) of this CuS-GeO2-TiO2 composite coating electrode were performed in pH = 9.51 Na2CO3-NaHCO3 buffer solution containing 0.50 mol/L CH3OH under the conditions of visible light, ultraviolet light (λ = 365 nm), and dark (without light irradiation as control), respectively. Electrochemical studies indicated that this CuS-GeO2-TiO2 composite coating electrode had better photoelectrocatalytic activity than the pure TiO2 electrode in the electrocatalysis of methanol under visible light.
Highlights
Since Fujishima and Honda [1] discovered the catalytic activity of the n-type TiO2 semiconductor electrode in the investigation of water decomposition, TiO2 has attracted chemists׳ attentions in the fields of heterogeneous catalytic technology [2]
SEM morphology of the CuS-GeO2-TiO2 composite coating surface was displayed in Fig 1, demonstrating that the CuS-GeO2-TiO2 composite coating exhibited a rough surface with multiple holes after the sintering treatment at 450°C
It verified that TiO2, CuS and GeO2 were uniformly distributed on ITO conductive glass surface with particle sizes of approximately 0.5– 1.0 μm
Summary
Since Fujishima and Honda [1] discovered the catalytic activity of the n-type TiO2 semiconductor electrode in the investigation of water decomposition, TiO2 has attracted chemists׳ attentions in the fields of heterogeneous catalytic technology [2]. Ultraviolet light only accounts for 8% of the solar energy, and visible light comprises 45% of the solar energy. Several different methods, such as noble metal deposition, ion doping, composite semiconductor, dye photosensitization technique [7,8,9,10,11], have been developed to improve the catalytic performance of TiO2 under visible light [12]. Semiconductor combination, as one of the methods, is regarded as the most effective method to generate TiO2 hybridized heterogeneous materials with excellent photocatalytic activity under visible light [13,14]
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