Title: Preparation of TiO₂ nanorod arrays decorated with CdS nanoparticles exhibiting enhanced photoelectrochemical and photocatalytic properties in visible light

Authors: Zheng Xie; Shuang Shuang; Lingwei Ma; Xiangxuan Liu; Zhengjun Zhang

Addresses: The State Key Laboratory for New Ceramics and Fine Processing, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; High-Tech Institute of Xi'an, Shaanxi 710025, China ' The State Key Laboratory for New Ceramics and Fine Processing, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China ' The State Key Laboratory for New Ceramics and Fine Processing, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China ' High-Tech Institute of Xi'an, Shaanxi 710025, China ' Key Laboratory of Advanced Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China

Abstract: TiO₂ nanorod arrays (TiO₂ NRAs) decorated with CdS nanoparticles (CdS NPs) were fabricated via successive ion layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR), and TiO₂ NRAs were obtained by oxidising Ti NARs obtained through oblique angle deposition (OAD) by magnetron sputtering. The TiO₂ NRAs decorated with CdS NPs exhibited excellent visible light photoelectrochemical and photocatalytic properties, and the one decorated with 20 SILAR cycles CdS NPs plays the best performance. This can be attributed to the enhanced electrons-holes generation and separation by forming hetero-junctions of CdS NPs and TiO₂ NRAs. It provides a promising way to fabricate the material applied in the solar energy conversion and waste water degradation.

Keywords: TiO2 nanorod arrays; titanium dioxide; titania; CdS nanoparticles; cadmium sulphide; photoelectrochemistry; photocatalysts; visible light; photoelectrochemical properties; photocatalytic properties; nanotechnology; solar energy conversion; solar power; wastewater treatment.

DOI: 10.1504/IJNM.2016.079223

International Journal of Nanomanufacturing, 2016 Vol.12 No.3/4, pp.237 - 251

Received: 17 Jun 2015
Accepted: 04 Jan 2016
Published online: 23 Sep 2016 *

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