The influence of the electrodeposition potential on the morphology of Cu2O/TiO2 nanotube arrays and their visible-light-driven photocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution

•Cu2O/TiO2 nanotube arrays (Cu2O/TNA) are prepared by electrodeposition method.•The morphology of Cu2O nanoparticles on the TNA is controlled by electrodeposition potential.•Cu2O/TNA exhibits high visible-light-driven photocatalytic activity for H2 evolution.•The structure-dependent photoactivity of Cu2O/TNA for H2 evolution has been reported.

The influence of the electrodeposition potential on the morphology of Cu2O/TiO2 nanotube arrays (Cu2O/TNA) and their visible-light-driven photocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution have been investigated for the first time in this work. The photocatalytic hydrogen evolution rate of the as-prepared Cu2O/TNA at the deposition potential of −0.8 V was about 42.4 times that of the pure TNA under visible light irradiation. This work demonstrated a feasible and simple electrodeposition method to fabricate an effective and recyclable visible-light-driven photocatalyst for hydrogen evolution.

Graphical abstractThe morphologies and photo-electrochemical performances of Cu2O/TiO2 nanotube arrays (Cu2O/TNA) were largely influenced by electrodeposition potential, a suitable structure for photocatalytic hydrogen production has been designed.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide