Formation of hierarchically polyhedral Cu7S4 cages from Cu2O templates and their structure-dependent photocatalytic performances

Abstract

Hierarchically polyhedral (octahedral and cubic) Cu₇S₄ hollow cages have been synthesized by an ethanol-assisted sacrificial Cu₂O template approach. The above two Cu₇S₄ cages were assembled from nanotwinned building blocks. When evaluated for their photocatalytic performances, these cages manifest structure-dependent properties. A higher amount of nanotwinned building blocks would be formed in original octahedral templates, so such an octahedral Cu₇S₄ microcage serving as a photocatalyst shows better performance than that of the cubic one. This highly active twinned structure concept might be used in the design and synthesis of functional nanostructures with improved physical and chemical properties.