Sputtering Deposition of ZnO Thin Films for Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production: Perspectives on Upscaling

Abstract

This study presents the successful implementation of ZnO thin films (denoted as z01, z02, and z03) through magnetron sputtering in the photocatalytic production of hydrogen using a low-intensity UV source (3 mW cm−2). The one-step synthesis process demonstrates simplicity and scalability. The deposited coatings, with thicknesses ranging from 62 to 209 nm, exhibit a hexagonal crystalline structure and display visible luminescence in the yellow-red range, attributed to point defects in the ZnO lattice. Among the samples, z03 (62 nm in thickness) exhibited the most promising performance in photocatalytic hydrogen production, achieving a rate of (5387.2 ± 151.6) µmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹ when utilizing methanol as a hole scavenger. These findings hold great potential for upscaling such coatings in energy harvesting applications. The present work opens new avenues for efficient and scalable hydrogen production, contributing to improving clean energy technologies.