Facet-dependent photocatalytic performance of NiO oriented thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition

NiO oriented thin film samples were grown on LaAlO3 (100), LaAlO3 (110) and LaAlO3 (111) substrates by the pulsed laser deposition. The photocatalytic activities of the samples were investigated by degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) under full arc irradiation of a Xe lamp. NiO oriented thin films exhibited difference in photocatalytic oxidization activity. The increasing order of RhB degradation is (100)<(110)<(111), which is consistent with the order of ·OH generation. The XPS results implied that the ratio of adsorbed oxygen to lattice oxygen was related to the photocatalytic activity.