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Electrochemically Deposited Cu2O-Doped TiO2 Nanotube Photoanodes for Hydrogen Evolution

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Abstract

Regular TiO2 nanotube arrays are efficient photoanode materials for photocatalytic water splitting for hydrogen evolution. Herein, Cu2O nanoparticles were electrochemically deposited onto TiO2 nanotube surfaces to improve the photocatalytic performance of TiO2 nanotubes (NTbs). The doping amount of Cu2O was regulated by adjusting the pH of the electrolyte during the deposition process. The physicochemical properties of series Cu2O–TiO2 NTbs were characterized. The results show that the deposited Cu2O particles did not destroy the microstructure of the TiO2 NTbs and were uniformly loaded on both the inner and outer walls of the TiO2 NTbs. The as-prepared Cu2O–TiO2 NTbs were used as photoanodes for water-splitting hydrogen evolution. The calculated theoretical hydrogen production of the Cu2O–TiO2 NTbs was 18.66 μmol cm−2 h−1, which was three times higher than that of pure TiO2 NTbs. The photoelectric conversion efficiency was 22.6%. The high efficiency of the catalyst is attributed to the doping of Cu2O nanoparticles, which lowers the recombination rate of photogenerated electron–hole pairs in the Cu2O–TiO2 NTbs, thus improving the photocatalytic performance.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grant Number 21905042]. We are also grateful for the measurement assistants from the Analysis & Testing Center of Northeast Petroleum University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Northeast Petroleum University, Daqing, 163318, People’s Republic of China

    Xueqin Wang, Peng Qiao, Man Dai, Ying Liu, Yuanyuan Wang, Wenyi Wang, Yanxiu Liu & Hua Song

  2. Daqing Petrochemical Engineering CO., LTD, Daqing, 163318, People’s Republic of China

    Qihui Chen

  3. Provincial Key Laboratory of Oil & Gas Chemical Technology, Northeast Petroleum University, Daqing, 163318, People’s Republic of China

    Xueqin Wang & Hua Song

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  1. Xueqin Wang
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  2. Peng Qiao
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Correspondence to Xueqin Wang.

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Wang, X., Qiao, P., Chen, Q. et al. Electrochemically Deposited Cu2O-Doped TiO2 Nanotube Photoanodes for Hydrogen Evolution. Catal Lett 153, 1689–1695 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10562-022-04121-0

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