Ricerc@Sapienza

Energy from renewables (solar, photovoltaic, geothermal), is a major challenge for researchers' efforts in reason of the intermittent nature of these energy sources. Systems like photoelectrochemical (PEC) cells are promising devices that allow the direct conversion of solar energy into electric power and/or chemical fuels. The direct conversion of solar energy in fuels can be achieved using photocatalysts, based on semiconductors like TiO2.

Composite Ti/TiO2/Cu2O electrodes were produced by electrodeposition of p-Cu2O nanoparticles over the surface of TiO2 nanotubes generated by one-step electrochemical anodization of titanium. The effect of electrodeposition potential and duration of the electrodeposition experiments on size and morphology of the Cu2O nanoparticles was evaluated by FE-SEM analysis. In order to evaluate the photo-catalytic activity of the composite electrodes, photo-degradation experiments with methylene blue and photo-electrochemical tests were performed.