Photocatalytic Activity of CuO/ZnO Heterostructure Nanocrystals under UV-Visible Light Irradiation

Abstract

The p-n junction photocatalysts, p-CuO (at. 0-25%)/n-ZnO nanocomposite were prepared through hydrothermal method without using any organic solvent or surfactant. The as-prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-Ray spectroscopy, and UV-vis spectroscopy. The results demonstrated that the CuO/ZnO nanocomposite presented a two-dimensional morphology composed of sheet-like ZnO nanostructures adorned with CuO nanoparticles. The photocatalytic activity of CuO/ZnO with different Cu/Zn molar rations and pure ZnO synthesized by the identical synthetic route were evaluated by degrading methylene blue (MB) dye under UV-visible light irradiation. The CuO/ZnO with Cu/Zn molar ratio of 4% exhibits the highest photocatalytic activity compared that of the other photocatalysts under the identical conditions. It is mainly attributed to the increased charge separation rate in the nanocomposite and the extended photo-responding range.