Preparation And Characterization Of Three-Dimensionally Ordered Macroporous Cu₂O Films

In this paper, three-dimensionally ordered macroporous (3DOM) cuprous oxide film was fabricated by colloid crystal template method, and its properties were characterized.The colloidal crystal template was self-assembled successfully via vertical deposition method using polystyrene (PS) spheres obtained by emulsion polymerization with diameters from 200 to 600nm. Cuprous oxide was filled into the gaps between PS spheres in the colloid crystal template by the method of electrochemical deposition. At last, 3DOM Cu₂O was achieved after removing PS template immersed in the organic solvent tetrahydrofuran for 2 hours.The composition of the film material deposited on ITO conductive glass substrate directly was characterized using Energy Dispersive Spectrometer (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). The results showed that the prepared film's composition was pure cubic Cu₂O crystals. The catholic electrochemical deposition process of cuprous oxide in aqueous solution was researched through electrochemical method. The deposition potential was determined by observing cyclic voltammetry (CV) curve, and the current changes in the electrochemical deposition process were seen from the current - time curves.The morphology of the cuprous oxide film deposited on ITO conductive glass substrate directly and 3DOM cuprous oxide films were characterized by Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The influences of electrochemical deposition process parameters (pH, deposition potential, deposition time and electrolyte temperature, etc.) on the morphology of two different kinds of cuprous oxide films, and the influences of the template (the size of spheres, arrangement, and defects) on the morphology of the 3DOM cuprous oxide film were analyzed. The results showed that cuprous oxide film with highly ordered three-dimensional macroporous structure would be obtained through controlling experimental conditions in the experimental range.The spectral characteristics of the PS/Cu₂O composite film and 3DOM Cu₂O film were analyzed with spectral analysis method. The effects of PS sphere diameters, incident angle and other factors on the photonic band gap were studied.