Poor visible light utilization and charge separation efficiency of TiO₂ restrict its extensive application in the photocatalytic field. Herein, a specific Z-scheme TiO_2-x/Cu/ZnO heterojunction was successfully constructed by atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique and spray pyrolysis technology. Benefited from the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect of Cu and Z-scheme heterojunction, the visible light absorption capacity was greatly enhanced. Meanwhile, ZnO nanolayer coating, prepared by ALD technique, protects Cu element to hinder its oxidation, thus enhancing the separation efficiency of photogenerated carriers. Therefore, the photocatalytic hydrogen production performance was significant improved, exhibiting a maximum value of 342.0 µmol·g⁻¹·h⁻¹ for the optimal B-T-0.1C-10Z (black TiO₂/0.1Cu/10 nm ZnO) sample without any noble-metal cocatalyst, which is higher than pure TiO₂ (310.7 µmol·g⁻¹·h⁻¹, with 3 wt% Pt) synthesized by spray pyrolysis method under equal conditions. In addition, a possible mechanism for the enhanced performance was briefly discussed based on the experimental results.

TiO ₂较差的可见光利用率和电荷分离效率限制了其在光催化领域的广泛应用。在此，通过原子层沉积（ALD）技术和喷雾热解技术成功构建了特定的Z型TiO _2-x /Cu/ZnO异质结。得益于Cu和Z型异质结的表面等离子体共振（SPR）效应，可见光吸收能力大大增强。同时，通过ALD技术制备的ZnO纳米层涂层可以保护Cu元素阻止其氧化，从而提高光生载流子的分离效率。因此，光催化制氢性能显着提高，最大值为342.0 µmol·g ^-1 ·h^-1对于没有任何贵金属助催化剂的最佳 BT-0.1C-10Z（黑色 TiO ₂ /0.1Cu/10 nm ZnO）样品，其高于纯 TiO ₂（310.7 µmol·g ^-1 ·h ^-1，与 3 wt% Pt) 在相同条件下通过喷雾热解法合成。此外，基于实验结果简要讨论了增强性能的可能机制。