This article reports on VIS-active composite thin films based on zinc oxide (ZnO) and copper sulfide (Cu_xS) deposited using robotic spray pyrolysis deposition (SPD) for the study of the optical and photocatalytic properties. The first step involves the SPD deposition of a Cu_xS layer onto the glass substrate at 300°C. The second step consists of the deposition of a ZnO layer onto the Cu_xS layer to form glass/Cu_xS-ZnO composites that were further annealed at 400°C. The development of the composite thin films was confirmed by XRD and EDX analyses. The band gap energy () of the bare ZnO thin films decreased from 3.15 eV to an activation energy value of 2.8 eV after the deposition of the ZnO thin layer onto the Cu_xS layer and from 2.8 to 2.08 eV after annealing the Cu_xS-ZnO composite at 400°C. The UV-VIS irradiation (5.5% of UV, ) of a 10 ppm methylene blue solution was used to investigate the photocatalytic properties of the Cu_xS-ZnO composites. The annealed Cu_xS-ZnO thin films at 400°C demonstrates better photocatalytic activity compared to Cu_xS-ZnO composites deposited at 300°C. The enhanced photocatalytic efficiency of the annealed Cu_xS-ZnO thin films may be the result of the diode structure and the increased crystallinity that prevent the electron-hole recombination.

中文翻译：

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通过机器人喷雾热解沉积沉积的 CuxS/ZnO 复合薄膜的光学和光催化性能

本文报道了使用机器人喷雾热解沉积 (SPD) 沉积的基于氧化锌 (ZnO) 和硫化铜 (Cu _x S) 的VIS 活性复合薄膜，用于研究光学和光催化性能。第一步涉及在 300°C下将 Cu _x S 层SPD 沉积到玻璃基板上。第二步包括将 ZnO 层沉积到 Cu _x S 层上以形成玻璃/Cu _x S-ZnO 复合材料，然后在 400°C 下进一步退火。XRD 和 EDX 分析证实了复合薄膜的发展。带隙能量 ( )在将 ZnO 薄层沉积到 Cu _x S 层上之后，裸 ZnO 薄膜的活化能值从 3.15 eV 降低到 2.8 eV，而在 Cu _x S-ZnO 复合材料在 400°退火后，其活化能值从 2.8 eV 降低到 2.08 eV C。UV-VIS 照射（UV 的 5.5%，)的 10 ppm 亚甲蓝溶液用于研究 Cu _x S-ZnO 复合材料的光催化性能。与在 300°C 下沉积的Cu _x S-ZnO 复合材料相比，在 400°C 下退火的 Cu _x S-ZnO 薄膜表现出更好的光催化活性。退火后的 Cu _x S-ZnO 薄膜的光催化效率提高可能是二极管结构和防止电子-空穴复合的结晶度增加的结果。