Hollow Cu2O microspheres with two active {111} and {110} facets for highly selective adsorption and photodegradation of anionic dye

Dai Song Chen, Wen Bei Yu, Zhao Deng, Jing Liu, Jun Jin, Yu Li, Min Wu, Li Hua Chen, Bao Lian Su

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Hollow Cu<inf>2</inf>O microspheres (0.7 to 4 μm in diameter) with two active {111} and {110} facets have been prepared in water/ethylene glycol (H<inf>2</inf>O/EG) solution via a fast hydrothermal route in only 1 h. Due to the dangling "Cu" atoms in the highly active {111} and {110} facets, the microspheres demonstrate preferential selective adsorption and photodegradation for negatively charged methyl orange (MO), comparing to cationic rhodamine B (RhB) and neutral phenol. The 0.7 μm hollow Cu<inf>2</inf>O microspheres show the best adsorption capacity and photodegradation performance for MO removal: 49% MO can be adsorbed in 60 min and 99.8% MO can be fully removed under visible light illumination in 80 min, owing to the two active {110} and {111} facets and hollow structure. To exactly evaluate the photocatalytic efficiency, a new methodology is proposed by deducting the adsorption effect. The results show that in spite of 99.2% MO is removed from the solution under visible light illumination in 60 min, 14% MO is still adsorbed on the catalyst, which can be totally removed under further 20 min illumination. Our synthesis strategy presents a new opportunity for the preparation of hollow structures with high active facets. And the proposed accurate evaluation methodology may be extended to other photocatalysts with high adsorption capability for organic pollutants.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)55520-55526
Number of pages7
JournalRSC Advances
Volume5
Issue number68
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2015

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