tailieunhanh - Synthesis and photocatalytic activities of CuO-TiO2 nanocomposites

The photocatalytic ability of CuO-TNTs was determined by absorbance spectroscopy of methylene blue (MB) solution under various irradiation conditions. Results showed that the photocatalytic activity of CuO-TNTs is lower than that of the original TNTs in UV irradiation. In contrast, it shows the better performance in visible light and sunlight than that of the TNTs. | Journal of Science and Technology 54 (4B) (2016) 35-41 SYNTHESIS AND PHOTOCATALYTIC ACTIVITIES OF CuO-TiO2 NANOCOMPOSITES Thi Ngoc Tu Le1, 2,*, Nu Quynh Trang Ton2, Thi Thu Ha Hoang2, Son D. N. Luu2, Thi Hanh Thu Vu2 1 Dong Thap University, 783 Pham Huu Lau, Ward 6, Dong Thap Province, Vietnam 2 Faculty of Physics and Engineering Physics, University of Science, Vietnam National University in Ho Chi Minh City, 227 Nguyen Van Cu, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam * Email: ltntu@ Received: 15 August 2016; Accepted for publication: 10 November 2016 ABSTRACT TiO2 nanotubes were prepared by hydrothermal method and then modified by CuO by two different methods: adsorption – calcination (A-C) method and photo-reduction method. The obtained solid product (CuO-TNTs) was investigated of: morphology, crystal structure and absorbance spectroscopy by transmission electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffractometry (XRD), UV-vis spectroscopy; respectively. The photocatalytic ability of CuO-TNTs was determined by absorbance spectroscopy of methylene blue (MB) solution under various irradiation conditions. Results showed that the photocatalytic activity of CuO-TNTs is lower than that of the original TNTs in UV irradiation. In contrast, it shows the better performance in visible light and sunlight than that of the TNTs. Keywords: CuO-TiO2, TiO2 nanotubes, hydrothermal synthesis, photo-reduction, A-C, photocatalysis. 1. INTRODUCTION Among the photocatalytic material such as TiO2 [1], ZnO [2], SnO2 [3]. TiO2 has attracted an excellent attention due to its chemical stability, high catalytic efficiency, low cost and environmentally friendly impact [4]. The photocatalytic performance of these materials is enhanced by the effect of quantum confinement of charge carriers [5]. Previous studies reported that CuO-TiO2 shows higher photocatalytic activity than that of TiO2 [4, 6]. In addition, CuOTiO2 shows the ability to create hydrogen gas by photocatalytic water splitting [4,7]. CuO is