Enhanced visible light photocatalytic activity of TiO2 nanotube arrays modified with CdSe nanoparticles by electrodeposition method

• CdSe nanoparticles were deposited on TiO2 NTAs by electrodeposition technology.
• Uniform distribution of CdSe was achieved by fast controlling deposition process.
• CdSe/TiO2 NTAs show 94.4% degradation rate after visible light irradiation.
• Using CdSe/TiO2 NTAs with Ti substrate improved operation and recycling ability.

Highly ordered TiO2 nanotube arrays (NTAs) were fabricated on titanium substrate via electrochemical anodization method. CdSe nanoparticles were deposited on the TiO2 NTAs through the electrodeposition process. The influence of electrolyte concentration and deposition time on the visible light photocatalytic performance of CdSe/TiO2 NTAs was studied systematically. The photocatalytic activity of as-prepared samples was evaluated by degradation of methyl orange under visible light irradiation. The results indicated that the CdSe nanoparticles distributed uniformly on the surface of TiO2 NTAs when deposited in the electrolyte containing 0.02 M CdCl2, 2 mM SeO2 and 0.02 M Na2SO4 with time of 600 s. After irradiation under visible light for 2 h, the degradation rate of CdSe/TiO2 NTAs composite material reached 94.4%, while the degradation rate of unmodified TiO2 NTAs was only 6.2 % under the same condition, demonstrating that the CdSe/TiO2 NTAs exhibited higher photocatalytic activity in visible light region. In addition, a reasonable degradation rate of 80.96% was achieved even after being used for 5 times.