Issue 22, 2014

An ultrasound-assisted deposition of NiO nanoparticles on TiO2 nanotube arrays for enhanced photocatalytic activity

Abstract

An ultrasound-assisted deposition technique was adopted to construct NiO nanoparticles on TiO2 nanotube arrays (NiO–TiO2 NTAs) which were prepared by three-step electrochemical anodization in an ethylene glycol system. The NiO nanoparticles were found to deposit on the surface of the highly oriented TiO2 nanotubes. NiO–TiO2 NTAs exhibited improved photochemical capability under UV irradiation. Compared with TiO2 NTAs, a more than 2.56-fold enhancement in photocurrent response was achieved using the NiO–TiO2 NTAs. The maximum incident photon to charge carrier generation efficiency (IPCE) values of NiO–TiO2 NTAs and TiO2 NTAs were 83.5% and 22.2%, respectively. The photocatalytic activities of NiO–TiO2 NTAs were evaluated by the photodegradation of methylene blue (MB) aqueous solution. The kinetic constant of photocatalytic degradation of MB using NiO–TiO2 NTAs prepared by ultrasonic deposition for 1.0 h was 1.9 times higher than that using TiO2 NTAs. The enhanced photocurrent response and photocatalytic activity with NiO–TiO2 NTAs were attributed to the formation of the NiO–TiO2 p–n junctions.

Graphical abstract: An ultrasound-assisted deposition of NiO nanoparticles on TiO2 nanotube arrays for enhanced photocatalytic activity

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
18 Feb 2014
Accepted
15 Mar 2014
First published
23 Apr 2014

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2014,2, 8223-8229

An ultrasound-assisted deposition of NiO nanoparticles on TiO2 nanotube arrays for enhanced photocatalytic activity

Z. Wu, Y. Wang, L. Sun, Y. Mao, M. Wang and C. Lin, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2014, 2, 8223 DOI: 10.1039/C4TA00850B

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