Abstract
To improve the photocatalytic property of TiO(2) thin films, the composite thin films of TiO(2)/Nd(2)O(3) structure were fabricated by electron-beam physical vapor deposition method, and the photocatalytic property of the fabricated films was experimentally studied in the present work. The XRD and Raman analyses show that the TiO(2)/Nd(2)O(3) films are mainly hexagonal crystalline phase of Nd(2)O(3). The XPS analysis for the chemical state changes of Ti, O and Nd of the basic elements in the films is confirming the electron flow in the internal electric field which generated in the TiO(2)/Nd(2)O(3) films. The surface morphology shows the lattice distortion which affects the changes in the energy band structure. Moreover, the formation of n-n homojunctions improved the separation efficiency of electrons and holes, and enhanced the catalytic activity. The photocatalytic performance for the methylene blue target dye shows that the sample with TiO(2) thickness of 20-25 nm has better performance, high degradation efficiency and high reaction rate.