摘要
The aim of this work is to improve the photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical properties of TiO_(2) nanotubes(TiO_(2)-NTAs)by sensitizing them with PbS nanoparticles(NPs)prepared by the Successive Ionic Layer Adsorption and Reaction method(SILAR).The Microstructure,surface morphology,phase composition and optical properties of the prepared structure were characterized using X-ray diffraction(XRD),scanning electron microscopy(SEM),transmission electron microscopy(TEM and High-resolution mode HRTEM)and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS).The TiO_(2) NTAs were loaded by PbS NPs,which contents increase by increasing the number of SILAR cycles.The PbS NPs,which have a size in the order of ~20 nm,were found to be uniformly distributed in the TiO_(2) NTAs without damaging the tubular ordered structure.The photocatalytic activity of the PbS/TiO_(2) NTAs system,toward Amido Black(AB),showed significant enhancement compared to the bare untreated TiO_(2) NTs.At 30 SILAR deposition cycles the PbS-NPs/TiO_(2) NTAs structure is able to remove 75% of BA under simulated solar light,considerably higher than the 40% removal obtained with unloaded TiO_(2) NTAs.A significant improvement of the Photoelectrochemical(PEC)efficiency has been also demonstrated for the PbS-NPs/TiO_(2) NTAs hybrid system.This improvement is mainly related to visible-light harvesting and reduced recombination of photo-generated electron-hole pairs due to the synergistic effect of the heterojunction and to the wellorganized morphology of the TiO_(2) NTAs.
基金
the financial support of the Tunisian Ministry of higher education and scientific research
the financial support of the University of Sharjah(grant No.1602143028-P).
