Synthesis and Characterization of Cubic P―type Semiconductor Cu1.8S―deposited TiO2 Nanobelts

TiO2 nanobelts deposited with cubic p―type semiconductor Cu1.8S particles were prepared using Cu2O―deposited TiO2 nanobelts and thiourea as precursors under hydrothermal condition by Cu2O sacrificial template process. The measurement results show that the reaction temperature, reaction time and thiourea concentration have strong influence on the purity and morphology of Cu1.8S particles. A mixture phases of Cu1.8S and Cu2O on TiO2 nanobelts were obtained at 120 or 25 h within 0.5 mol/L of thiourea concentration. While reaction temperature was raised to 160 the Cu1.8S particles with high purity exhibited obvious aggregation, whereas the Cu1.8S particles with high purity and well dispersion were prepared under 0.25 mol/L of thiourea concentration. The photocatalytic activities in degradation of Rhodamine B solution demonstrate that the Cu1.8S or Cu2O―loading catalysts show lower photodegradation activities as compared with that of pure TiO2 nanobelts.