Fabrication of Cu₂O-TiO₂Nano-composite with High Photocatalytic Performance under Simulated Solar Light

Abstract

Cu 2 O-P25 (TiO 2 ) nano-heterostructures with different mass ratios were synthesized via a wet chemical precipitation and hydrothermal method, and were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). DRS results showed that the light absorption of P25 extended to the visible light region with the loading of Cu 2 O. XPS results showed that Cu existed in the state of Cu + in the presence of hydroxylamine hydrochloride, confirming the formation of Cu 2 O. The obtained products exhibited efficient photocatalytic performance in degradation of methyl orange (MO) and methylene blue (MB) under simulated solar light. The sample of 5% Cu 2 O-P25 exhibited the highest photocatalytic activity among all as-prepared samples. And the photocatalysts can be recycled without obvious loss of photocatalytic activity.