Su R, Ge S, Li H, Su Y, Li Q, Zhou W, Gao B, Yue Q. Synchronous synthesis of Cu
2O/Cu/rGO@carbon nanomaterials photocatalysts via the sodium alginate
hydrogel template method for visible light photocatalytic degradation.
Sci Total Environ 2019;
693:133657. [PMID:
31635004 DOI:
10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.133657]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2019] [Revised: 07/27/2019] [Accepted: 07/27/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
A series of Cu2O/Cu/rGO@carbon nanomaterial (Cu2O/Cu/rGO@CN) heterogeneous photocatalysts were successfully synthesized synchronously via a novel sodium alginate hydrogel method. Cu2O nanoparticles (~50nm) were synthesized by calcination under the protection of a nitrogen atmosphere. Cu nanoparticles (~6nm) inevitably appeared on the surface of Cu2O, thereby forming a Cu2O/Cu heterostructure which is known as a Schottky junction. Graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets were synchronously reduced in situ by sodium alginate during the synthesis process and eventually acted as a 3-D structure with the assistance of the hydrogel skeleton. Because of the 3-D rGO modification, both the adsorption capacity and the photocatalytic activity of Cu2O/Cu/rGO@CN were significantly improved. The rate of p-nitrochlorobenzene (p-NCB) degradation catalyzed by Cu2O/Cu/rGO@CN was ~1.97×10-2min-1, which was much higher than that of the degradation catalyzed by Cu2O/Cu@CN (~0.239×10-2min-1). This result could be attributed to the two-stage Cu2O/Cu/rGO heterostructure, which facilitated efficient electron-hole separation. This method has the advantages of nontoxic raw materials, facile synthesis and reduced auxiliary usage, providing a new technique for designing heterogeneous photocatalysts.
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