Synthesis of chip-shaped Te film for enhanced photocatalytic activity under visible light irradiation

Abstract In recent years, Te films are an active semiconductor photocatalysts because of the suitable photoelectrochemical properties. In this paper, Te films were successfully fabricated via a facile electrodeposition method with the addition of NaCl into electrolytic solution and assessed for photocatalytic application. The physicochemical performances of Te films were characterized via many analytical methods. It was discovered that the resulting Te films can present different physicochemical properties controllably depending on the NaCl used. Photodegradation experimental result indicates that the chip-shaped Te films show superior photocatalytic activity towards MB degradation. The degradation efficiency of 95.1% was achieved in 60 min. In addition, the developed films also presented superior stability without an apparent inactivation on photocatalytic activity after four photocatalytic cycles. The markedly enhanced photocatalytic activity of the chip-shaped Te film can be due to the formation of unique structure which can increase the surface area, promote the absorption capability and improve the separation efficiency of photogenerated charge carriers. Notably, in the degradation process of MB, the •OH and •O2− are the main active radical species according to the free radicals capturing experiments and ESR results. A possible photocatalytic degradation mechanism was also proposed. It is hoped that the chip-shaped Te films have potential desirable applications in photocatalytic-industry. This work also offers a promising strategy to improve the performance of Te films to be high and multiple efficient photocatalyst.