Phases evolution and photocatalytic activity of Cu2O films electrodeposited from a non-pH-adjusted solution

A pure-phase Cu2O film photocatalyst was successfully prepared by the electrodeposition technique from a non-pH-adjusted solution. To investigate the phase evolution and photocatalytic activity of the film, the electrodeposition was conducted at different deposition temperatures. Photocatalytic activity of the films was evaluated from methylene blue (MB) dye degradation. The Cu2O phase initially appeared at room temperature and its fraction was found to increase with increasing the deposition temperature, while the impurity phase was successfully diminished. A pure Cu2O film with a narrow optical bandgap energy of 1.96 eV was obtained at 75°C. The multi-faceted crystals were found to form at 45°C and became a truncated octahedral structure that possessed {111} and {100} facets as deposition temperature further increased. A preferred orientation growth of {110} facet, which is known to possess a relatively high surface energy, was produced at 75°C. The performance of MB photodegradation ..., The data were obtained through UV-Visible spectrophotometer measurements conducted within the wavelength range of 500-750 nm.,