Efficient photocatalysts from polymorphic cuprous oxide/zinc oxide microstructures

Abstract

Pursuit of robust and cost-effective photocatalysts has been a persistent objective for environmental pollution problems. Polymorphic Cu₂O/ZnO microstructures are successfully fabricated by a mild solution strategy. The integration of Cu₂O with ZnO is a facile approach for creating and separating photoelectrons and holes, leading to the high photodegradation efficiency against methyl orange dye under simulated light irradiation. Detailed investigations are carried out by adjusting Cu²⁺/Zn²⁺ ratio to optimize the resultant morphology and therefore photocatalytic activity. 87.6% of methyl orange dyes have been photodegradated over 5.5 h-light irradiation. Notably, a pseudo cell comprising a Cu₂O/ZnO photoanode, a Pt counter electrode, and a methyl orange aqueous solution is creatively designed to demonstrate the potential mechanism for photoelectrochemical reaction.