Immobilizing Ag/Cu2O on cotton fabric to enhance visible light photocatalytic activity

Abstract

Ag/Cu₂O composites were prepared by the solvothermal and photo-reduction method. Then, Ag/Cu₂O nanoparticle-immobilized cotton fabric with a 3D structure (Ag/Cu₂O/CF) was successfully prepared by a relatively mild method, which was easy to be recycled and reused in the treatment of dye wastewater. Their composition, structure and morphology were carefully investigated by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Their photocatalytic activities were evaluated by measuring the degradation of methyl orange (MO) under the irradiation of visible light. The results showed that the photocatalytic activities of Cu₂O were influenced by the preparation time and Ag/Cu₂O enhanced the photocatalytic performance of the composite compared to pure Cu₂O. More importantly, the Ag/Cu₂O/CF also exhibited superior photocatalytic performance and excellent reusability. The species capture experiment and the electron spin resonance (ESR) study showed that ˙OH, h⁺ and ˙O₂⁻ all took part in the MO degradation. Furthermore, the photocatalytic mechanism of Ag/Cu₂O/CF has been proposed based on the experimental results. Therefore, the present work provides some insight into degradation of organic pollutants and the as-prepared composite has great potential for use in practical wastewater treatment.