Assembly of TiO2-on-Cu2O Nanocubes with Narrow-Band Cu2O-Induced Visible-Light-Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity

• Published in: ChemPlusChem (Weinheim, Germany) Vol. 79; no. 2; pp. 298 - 303
• Main Authors: Liu, Jiali, Wen, Ming, Chen, Hanxing, Li, Jing, Wu, Qing-Sheng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Weinheim WILEY-VCH Verlag 01.02.2014; WILEY‐VCH Verlag
• Subjects: electron transfer; nanoparticles; photochemistry; rhodamine B; self-assembly
• ISSN: 2192-6506; 2192-6506
• DOI: 10.1002/cplu.201300278

Newly designed TiO2‐on‐Cu2O nanocubes have been constructed as visible‐light‐driven photocatalysts with high efficiency by means of a facile self‐assembly approach at room temperature. In the resultant TiO2‐on‐Cu2O nanocubes, the TiO2 nanoparticles with a diameter of 6–8 nm show a well‐monodispersed distribution of the 200–300 nm‐sized Cu2O single‐crystal nanocubes, which can form sub‐monolayer, monolayer, and multilayer coverage through controlling the ratio of the two phases. In particular, the coupling of the wide‐bandgap semiconductor TiO2 with narrow‐bandgap Cu2O can lead to the markedly enhanced high visible‐light photocatalytic activity in the TiO2‐on‐Cu2O nanocomposite systems toward the photodegradation of rhodamine B, which is induced by the bandgap‐adjusting effect. This promising self‐assembly route can be extended to the preparation of other nanocomposite materials. Seeing the light: Newly designed visible‐light photocatalysts of TiO2‐on‐Cu2O nanocubes have been successfully synthesized by means of a facile self‐assembly route, and exhibit markedly enhanced visible‐light photocatalytic activity toward the photodegradation of rhodamine B (see figure).