Photocatalytic indoor/outdoor air treatment and bacterial inactivation on CuxO/TiO2 prepared by HiPIMS on polyester cloth under low intensity visible light

In this study, photoactive CuxO/TiO2 coatings were prepared using magnetron sputtering operated at different powers and modes (Direct-current magnetron sputtering and High Power Impulse magnetron sputtering). Indoor/outdoor air pollutions (Volatile Organic Compounds, VOCs) degradation have been dramatically reduced on sputtered CuxO/TiO2 on polyester (PES) cloth under low intensity visible light. The Low intensity visible light was used to irradiate the sputtered photocatalysts, which degraded various VOC molecules concomitant with a bacterial inactivation ability. The VOC removal kinetics were studied in the dark and under visible light as a function of the deposition time and applied peak currents during the coating by HiPIMS. High concentrations of chloroform and butyraldehyde were shown to be degraded (90% and 85%, respectively) on CuxO/TiO2-PES fabrics under daylight irradiation. The repetitive reuse of the sputtered coatings was also investigated showing the long operational lifetime of the prepared fabrics. The deposition rates of Ti and Cu atoms and their atomic distribution along the sputtered film have been investigated by Transmission Electronic Microscopy (TEM). Redox catalysis was shown to happen within the VOC degradation time as detected by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). Deconvolution of the Cu2p3/2 peak in the CuxO/TiO2 on PES samples showed changes in the Cu2O and CuO within the VOCs degradation and the bacterial inactivation. The interfacial charge transfer (IFCT) between CuxO induced under light leading to VOCs oxidation path seemed to require a low photons energy and were able to oxidize the pollutants even at high concentrations. The mechanisms involving the VOCs degradation on CuxO/TiO2 catalysts are suggested in which the holes generated by Cu2O transfer to TiO2 in the TiO2(n)/CuxO(p) in the hetero-junction. This transfer is favored by the electrostatic interaction between both semiconductors. The photo-generated ROS, mainly ⦁OH-radicals were determined by fluorescence method. The possible contribution of the ⦁OH-radicals in the bacterial inactivation on the sputtered CuxO/TiO2 catalysts was discussed. DRS, TEM, contact angle (CA) and XPS were used to characterize the catalyst optical and structural properties.