title: A surfactant-free solvothermal synthesis of Cu2O microcrystals and their photocatalytic activity.
abstract: The Cu2O octahedral microcrystals have been successfully fabricated by a surfactant-free solvothermal approach. The morphology and structure of the as-prepared sample were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction and UV-Vis spectroscopy. It was found that the structure and morphology of Cu2O microcrystals were strongly affected by synthesis time and temperature. Based on the time-dependent experiment, the possible formation mechanism of Cu2O octahedral microcrystals was proposed. The photocatalytic activities of as-prepared Cu2O samples were also evaluated for degradation of methyl orange under visible-light irradiation. The results showed that the Cu2O synthesized at 180 °C for 4 h had a better photocatalytic performance due to its high percentage of exposed (111) crystal facet and the lowest band gap energy.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biological and Chemical Engineering, Jiaxing University, Jiaxing 314001, Zhejiang, China E-mail: hongmei256@163.com.
authors.forename: Hongmei
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biological and Chemical Engineering, Jiaxing University, Jiaxing 314001, Zhejiang, China E-mail: hongmei256@163.com.
authors.forename: Zhufeng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Key Laboratory of Artificial Micro- and Nano-structures of Ministry of Education, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China.
authors.forename: Dingze
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Key Laboratory of Artificial Micro- and Nano-structures of Ministry of Education, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China.
authors.forename: Chunhe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Key Laboratory of Artificial Micro- and Nano-structures of Ministry of Education, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China.
authors.forename: Pengfei
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biological and Chemical Engineering, Jiaxing University, Jiaxing 314001, Zhejiang, China E-mail: hongmei256@163.com.
authors.forename: Dapeng
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D001391:Azo Compounds / Q000737:chemistry; D002384:Catalysis; D003300:Copper / Q000737:chemistry*; D008027:Light; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D055668:Photochemical Processes; D013057:Spectrum Analysis / Q000379:methods; D013501:Surface-Active Agents; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
chemical_list: D001391:Azo Compounds; D013501:Surface-Active Agents; C100258:methyl orange; D003300:Copper; C000520:cuprous oxide