High photocatalytic activity of Cu2O/TiO2/Pt composite films prepared by magnetron sputtering

Cu2O/TiO2/Pt three-layer films were deposited on glass substrates using magnetron sputtering method. The surface morphology and the optical properties of the composite film were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy (UV–Vis) and photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL). The photocatalytic activity of the samples was evaluated by the photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange (MO) aqueous solution under visible light irradiation. The results indicate that the Cu2O/TiO2/Pt composite films are made up of three layers which are Pt layer, anatase-TiO2 layer and Cu2O layer from bottom to top. The surface of the films is even and composed of regular-shaped spherical particles. The photocatalytic activity of the Cu2O/TiO2/Pt three-layer film is much higher than that of the Cu2O/TiO2 double-layer film. Such enhancement is ascribed to the presence of Pt layer, which further inhibits the photogenerated electron–hole recombination, prolongs the lifetime of the photogenerated carriers, increases the quantum efficiency and hence improves the photocatalytic activity of the film effectively.