Tuning the CuxO nanorod composition for efficient visible light induced photocatalysis12. Issue 7 (24th November 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Basnet, Pradip; Zhao, Yiping
• Is Part Of: Catalysis science & technology. Volume 6:Issue 7(2016)
• Page Start: 2228
• Page End: 2238
• Publication Date: 2015-11-24
• Subjects: Catalysis -- Periodicals; 541.395
• DOI: 10.1039/c5cy01464f
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2044-4753

Abstract

Abstract : Single and mixed phase Cu2 O/CuO nanorod arrays prepared by thermal oxidation were tested for photocatalysis and photoelectrochemical properties. Abstract : A facile, low cost, and convenient method to fabricate Cu x O ( x = 1, 2) nanorod (NR) arrays is demonstrated by thermally oxidizing Cu NRs fabricated by oblique angle deposition. The single phase Cu2 O and CuO, and mixed phase Cu2 O/CuO polycrystalline NRs can be tuned simply by varying the thermal oxidation temperature. These Cu x O NRs exhibit excellent visible light photocatalytic activity for both cationic (methylene blue) and anionic (methyl orange) dye degradations. When used as a photocathode, they also show good photoelectrochemical performance, especially the mixed phase Cu2 O/CuO NRs. The maximum stable photocurrent density is observed to be 0.24 mA cm −2 under a simulated solar light. Incident photon-to-current efficiencies are found to be 20% and 44% at incident light wavelengths λ = 500 nm and 400 nm, respectively. These results show that the Cu x O NRs fabricated through the oxidation method can be a suitable candidate for efficient visible light active photocatalysts for energy applications as well as for wastewater treatment.