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

Abstract

TiO2 possesses a wide forbidden band of about 3.2 eV, which severely limits its visible light absorption efficiency. In this work, copper nitride (Cu3N) 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 Cu3N crystal possesses a typical anti-ReO3 crystal structure, and the ratio of nitrogen and Cu atoms of the Cu3N films was adjusted by changing the gas flow ratio. The Cu3N 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 Cu3N 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.

Surveying the Synthesis, Optical Properties and Photocatalytic Activity of Cu3N Nanomaterials

“…+ Ar]), substrate temperature and deposition pressure, which have a significant influence on Cu 3 N thin film growth and their properties. Additionally, deposition parameters also affect the crystal orientation and grain size of Cu 3 N thin films [65,83].…”

“…The deposition parameters of Cu3N thin films include sputtering power, N2 pressure r (r = N2/[N2 + Ar]), substrate temperature and deposition pressure, which have a significant influence on Cu3N thin film growth and their properties. Additionally, deposition parameters also affect the crystal orientation and grain size of Cu3N thin films [65,83]. Cu3N thin films can also be deposited by thermal evaporation using nitrogen as a gas source.…”

“…In recent years, several studies of Cu 3 N nanomaterials for photocatalytic applications have been reported (Table 2). Jiang et al reported the photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange (MO) using Cu 3 N thin films with an optical band gap of 2.0 eV [65]. In this work, a MO solution of 20 mg/L in 50 mL water was used as the target degradation product and Cu 3 N thin films with dimensions of 2.5 cm × 1.0 cm × 120 nm as a photocatalyst under a high-pressure mercury lamp (500 W).…”

“…A degradation yield of 95.5% in 30 min was achieved (Figure 8a). They infer that the effective photogenerated electron-hole pairs mainly originate from Cu vacancies and interstitials in the film [65]. Although the Cu 3 N thin-film alone presents excellent photocatalytic properties for degrading dyes, it has a few shortcomings.…”

Sputtered binder-free Cu3N electrode materials for high-performance quasi-solid-state asymmetric supercapacitors

“…23 Jiang et al fabricated Cu 3 N thin films by magnetron sputtering at different gas flow ratios and acquired superior photocatalytic activity. 24 Nevertheless, there are few studies concerning the application of magnetron sputtered Cu 3 N in SCs, and the lack of comprehensive investigation still prevents a deeper understanding of its energy storage behavior.…”