title: Correlation between Deposition Parameters and Hydrogen Production in CuO Nanostructured Thin Films.
abstract: In this article, we report a systematic investigation of the role of (i) substrate temperature, (ii) oxygen partial pressure, and (iii) radio frequency (rf) power on the crystal structure and morphology of CuO nanostructured thin films prepared by means of rf-magnetron sputtering starting from a Cu metal target. On selected films, photocatalytic tests have been carried out in order to correlate the structural and morphological properties of the thin films prepared under different conditions with the photocatalytic properties and to find out the key parameters to optimize the CuO nanostructured films. All of the synthesized films were single-phase CuO nanorods of variable diameter between 80 and 200 nm. Better-aligned rods were obtained at relatively low substrate temperatures and from low to intermediate oxygen partial pressures, resulting in more efficient photocatalytic activities. Our investigation suggests a relevant role of the crystallographic orientation of the CuO tenorite film on the photocatalytic activity, as demonstrated by the significant improvement in H2 evolution for highly oriented films.
authors.forename: Gianluca A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Artioli
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mancini
authors.forename: Victoria Raissa
authors.initials: VR
authors.lastname: Barbieri
authors.forename: Matteo C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Quattrini
authors.forename: Eliana
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Quartarone
authors.forename: Maria Cristina
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Mozzati
authors.affiliation: I-LAMP and Dipartimento di Matematica e Fisica, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore , 25121 Brescia, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Drera
authors.affiliation: I-LAMP and Dipartimento di Matematica e Fisica, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore , 25121 Brescia, Italy.
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sangaletti
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, ICCOM-CNR Trieste Research Unit and INSTM Research Unit, Trieste University , Trieste 34127, Italy.
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Gombac
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, ICCOM-CNR Trieste Research Unit and INSTM Research Unit, Trieste University , Trieste 34127, Italy.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fornasiero
authors.forename: Lorenzo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Malavasi