Sputtering-Assisted Synthesis of Copper Oxide–Titanium Oxide Nanorods and Their Photoactive Performances

A TiO(2) nanorod template was successfully decorated with a copper oxide layer with various crystallographic phases using sputtering and postannealing procedures. The crystallographic phase of the layer attached to the TiO(2) was adjusted from a single Cu(2)O phase or dual Cu(2)O–CuO phase to a single CuO phase by changing the postannealing temperature from 200 °C to 400 °C. The decoration of the TiO(2) (TC) with a copper oxide layer improved the light absorption and photoinduced charge separation abilities. These factors resulted in the composite nanorods demonstrating enhanced photoactivity compared to that of the pristine TiO(2). The ternary phase composition of TC350 allowed it to achieve superior photoactive performance compared to the other composite nanorods. The possible Z-scheme carrier movement mechanism and the larger granular size of the attached layer of TC350 under irradiation accounted for the superior photocatalytic activity in the degradation of RhB dyes.