The size controlled synthesis of Cu2S/P25 hetero junction solar-energy-materials and their applications in photocatalytic degradation of dyes

Abstract

In this paper highly dispersed Cu₂S nanocrystals loaded on commercially available TiO₂ form P25, denoted as Cu₂S/P25, was firstly fabricated by a deposition–precipitation process, to establish close pn hetero junctions to improve the visible light activity and the stability of Cu₂S on the catalyst surface. The catalysts were characterized by TEM, SEM, XRD, XPS, Raman, etc., the photocatalytic degradation kinetics of Cu₂S-loaded TiO₂ nanoparticles on methylene blue was systematically investigated. The results show that a lower amount of loading of Cu₂S on Cu₂S/P25 led to a higher photocatalytic degradation performance under visible light irradiation. The Cu₂S quantum size effects on the absorption band edge and photo induced catalytic performance were also investigated.