Reactive Magnetron Sputter Deposition of Copper on TiO2 Support for Photoreduction of CO2 to CH4

© Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd. In this work, nanocrystalline Cu/TiO2 catalysts have been synthesized by using pulsed direct current (DC) reactive magnetron sputtering of Cu targets in an Ar atmosphere onto P25-TiO2 support. The oscillating bowl was used to make the uniform coating on the substrate. The Cu doping content was varied by adjusting the coating time. The thus-obtained catalysts were characterized by using the X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-Vis spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The photocatalytic activities of all catalysts were studied via the photocatalytic reduction of CO2 and H2O to CH4 under UV irradiation, and compared with the pure TiO2 support and conventional-impregnation-made Cu/TiO2. The results showed that the photocatalytic performance of sputtering-made Cu/TiO2 catalyst was much better than the pure TiO2 support. Therefore, reactive magnetron sputtering was a promising technique for deposition of metal onto the support and use as the catalytic process.