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Numerical investigation on performance improvement of CuO/TiO2 heterojunctions for applications in sunlight-driven photodetectors and photocatalysts

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Abstract

The performance improvement of CuO/TiO2 heterojunctions was investigated to contribute to the understanding of factors influencing the performance of the heterojunctions and their potential applications in sunlight-driven photodetectors and photocatalysts. By using optimal parameters (TiO2 (CuO)’s thickness of 5 µm (60 nm), acceptor (donor) doping concentration of 1017 cm−3 (1018 cm−3), required interface defect of 1013 cm−3, and under AM 1.5G illumination at 27 °C and 0 V bias voltage, the device achieved a photocurrent density of 13 mA/cm2, a photoresponsivity of 3.25 A/W, a detectivity of 1.8 × 1014 Jones, and effectiveness across UVA and visible light. At temperatures approaching 300 °C, the CuO/TiO2 device maintained its high photoresponsivity and efficiency, indicating its suitability for applications in high-temperature environments, such as hydrogen production through photocatalysis. The results suggest that the devices have the potential to be utilized in sunlight-driven optoelectronic and photocatalyst industries, offering cost-effectiveness and high efficiency.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Asia Research Center, Chulalongkorn University, for funding support and Ubon Ratchathani University for allowing this research.

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  1. Department of Biomedical Physics, Faculty of Science, Ubon Ratchathani University, 85 Sathollmark Rd. Warinchamrab, Ubon Ratchathani, 34190, Thailand

    Suttinart Noothongkaew & Thatchaphon Phongsapatcharamon

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Author 1: Suttinart Noothongkaew: collected the data, contributed data or analysis tools, and performed the analysis.

Author 2: Thatchaphon Phongsapatcharamon: conceived and designed the analysis and wrote the paper

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Noothongkaew, S., Phongsapatcharamon, T. Numerical investigation on performance improvement of CuO/TiO2 heterojunctions for applications in sunlight-driven photodetectors and photocatalysts. J Nanopart Res 26, 33 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-024-05940-5

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