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Photocatalytic properties of CuO/(001)‐TiO 2 composites synthesized by the vapor–thermal method
Author(s) -
Sun X.Y.,
Zhang X.,
Sun X.,
Liu C.,
Qian N.X.,
Rao R.,
Wang M.,
Ma Y.Q.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
applied organometallic chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.53
H-Index - 71
eISSN - 1099-0739
pISSN - 0268-2605
DOI - 10.1002/aoc.5173
Subject(s) - photocatalysis , chemistry , methylene blue , visible spectrum , heterojunction , water vapor , valence band , valence (chemistry) , reaction rate constant , degradation (telecommunications) , composite material , chemical engineering , catalysis , band gap , materials science , kinetics , organic chemistry , telecommunications , physics , optoelectronics , quantum mechanics , computer science , engineering
Composites of (001)‐face‐exposed TiO 2 ((001)‐TiO 2 ) and CuO were synthesized in water vapor environment at 250°C with various Cu/Ti molar ratios ( R Cu/Ti ). The resulting CuO/(001)‐TiO 2 composites were characterized using a variety of techniques. The synthesis under high‐temperature vapor allows close contact between CuO and (001)‐TiO 2 , which results in the formation of heterojunctions, as evidenced by the shift of valence band maximum towards the forbidden band of TiO 2 . An appropriate ratio of CuO can enhance the absorption of visible light and promote the separation of photogenerated carriers, which improve the photocatalytic performance. The degradation rate constant K app increased from 5.5 × 10 −2 to 8.1 × 10 −2 min −1 for R Cu/Ti = 0.5. Additionally, the results showed that superoxide radicals ( • O 2 − ) play a major role in the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue.