Preparation of Copper Nitride Films with Superior Photocatalytic Activity through Magnetron Sputtering

TiO(2) possesses a wide forbidden band of about 3.2 eV, which severely limits its visible light absorption efficiency. In this work, copper nitride (Cu(3)N) films were prepared by magnetron sputtering at different gas flow ratios. The structure of the films was tested by scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffractometer, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscope. Optical properties were investigated by UV-vis spectrophotometer and fluorescence spectrometer. Results show that the Cu(3)N crystal possesses a typical anti-ReO(3) crystal structure, and the ratio of nitrogen and Cu atoms of the Cu(3)N films was adjusted by changing the gas flow ratio. The Cu(3)N films possess an optical band gap of about 2.0 eV and energy gap of about 2.5 eV and exhibit excellent photocatalytic activity for degrading methyl orange (degradation ratio of 99.5% in 30 min). The photocatalytic activity of Cu(3)N mainly originates from vacancies in the crystal and Cu self-doping. This work provides a route to broaden the forbidden band width of photocatalytic materials and increase their photoresponse range.