Surface alteration of titanium dioxide nanotube arrays by semiconductor and metal is one of the pathways to narrow the wide bandgap of titanium dioxide and thereby increase its absorption in the visible region. Cu-CdSe-cosensitized titanium dioxide nanotube arrays (Cu-CdSe/TiO₂ nanotube) have been produced for use as photoanodes in photoelectrochemical cells. Ordered Cu-CdSe/TiO₂ nanotubes were successfully prepared by varying the deposition time (1 min to 4 min) using a facile three-step electrochemical method. The composition, morphological structure, and visible-light response were characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) diffusion reflection spectroscopy (DRS), and photoelectrochemical testing. XRD analysis demonstrated that sensitization using Cu-CdSe did not destroy the structure of the anatase-phase nanotube arrays, with the formation of copper nanoparticles composed of cubic-like particles with increasing deposition time. UV–Vis DRS of the Cu-CdSe/TiO₂ nanotubes revealed a red-shift of the photoresponse towards the visible-light region, characterized by bandgap narrowing and improved photoefficiency. The optimal photoelectrochemical performance was observed when depositing Cu nanoparticles for 1 min, surpassing that of pristine titania nanotube arrays and other materials prepared under different conditions. The features of these photoanodes for many applications include easy synthesis, low cost, high efficiency for visible lighting, and good stability. The present work demonstrates a feasible modification of TiO₂ nanotubes with Cu-CdSe to form potential photoanodes for solar conversion devices.

半导体和金属对二氧化钛纳米管阵列的表面改变是缩小二氧化钛宽带隙从而增加其在可见光区的吸收的途径之一。Cu-CdSe 共敏化的二氧化钛纳米管阵列（Cu-CdSe/TiO ₂纳米管）已被生产用作光电化学电池中的光阳极。有序Cu-CdSe/TiO ₂通过使用简便的三步电化学方法改变​​沉积时间（1 分钟至 4 分钟），成功制备了纳米管。通过场发射扫描电子显微镜、X 射线衍射 (XRD) 分析、能量色散 X 射线光谱、紫外-可见 (UV-Vis) 扩散反射光谱对组成、形态结构和可见光响应进行表征。 DRS）和光电化学测试。XRD 分析表明，使用 Cu-CdSe 敏化不会破坏锐钛矿相纳米管阵列的结构，随着沉积时间的增加，形成由立方体状颗粒组成的铜纳米颗粒。Cu-CdSe/TiO _{2 的}UV-Vis DRS纳米管揭示了光响应向可见光区域的红移，其特征是带隙变窄和光效率提高。当沉积铜纳米粒子 1 分钟时观察到最佳光电化学性能，超过原始二氧化钛纳米管阵列和在不同条件下制备的其他材料。这些光电阳极在许多应用中的特点包括易于合成、成本低、可见光效率高和稳定性好。目前的工作证明了用 Cu-CdSe 对TiO ₂纳米管进行可行的改性，以形成用于太阳能转换设备的潜在光阳极。