investigation on the wettability behavior of CuxO / blackTiO2 photocatalyst nanocomposite on copper foam by combining anodizing and sol-gel methods

Smart materials have been used extensively because of the need for new energy sources. One of the most important types of these materials is the CuxO / blackTiO2 heterogeneous photocatalyst semiconductor. In this study, copper foam was used as a substrate and by performing the anodizing process in a solution of one molar of sodium hydroxide under pulsed and direct currents, a CuxO layer was formed on the copper foam. Then, in order to prepare black TiO2, spin coating of TiO2 sol was used and the samples were calcined in argon atmosphere. The results showed that the use of pulsed current led to the formation of Cu2O with octahedral microstructure and the contact angle of this hydrophobic oxide was determined to be 121.85̊. While, surface pits consisting of Cu2O and CuO oxides were formed with a contact angle of 127.85 ͦ under direct current. After the copper oxides were coated by black TiO2, the photocatalysts produced had a high hydrophilicity and passed water rapidly. Under these conditions, the energy gap was determined for the sample prepared by direct current 1.95 ev and for the sample prepared by pulse current 2 ev. Obviously, according to the results, the built-in photocatalyst semiconductor will be a suitable option for use in systems for degradation of dyes using visible light.