EFFECT OF COPPER CONCENTRATION ON THE MORPHOLOGY AND STRUCTURAL PROPERTIES OF COPPER LOADED TITANIA NANOTUBES PREPARED BY ELECTRODEPOSITION

Abstract

TiO₂ nanotubes (TiNT) is a promising semiconductor photoelectrode used in photoelectrochemical cell (PEC) but its commercialization is shielded by its low utilization of solar energy due to its wide bandgap. In this study, TiNT was fabricated via electrochemical anodization of Ti whereas various CuSO4 concentrations (1, 10, 100 and 400 mM) were electrodeposited onto the anodized TiNT and later were characterized by using FESEM, EDX and XRD. Uniform TiNT was succesfully obtained after anodization at 20 V. Cu particles were deposited on TiNT, except for those deposited in 1 mM CuSO4 as supported by EDX analysis. Additionally, the nanotubes hole seem partially filled up by copper particles in 10, 100 and 400 mM CuSO4 with large Cu particles were obviously formed on TiNT in 400 mM solution. The structural investigation by XRD indicated that unmodified TiNT contained mixture of anatase and rutile phase and no phase changes upon electrodeposition of Cu.