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Visible Light‐Induced Photoeletrochemical and Antimicrobial Properties of Hierarchical CuBi 2 O 4 by Facile Hydrothermal Synthesis
Author(s) -
Zhu Lu,
Basnet Pradip,
Larson Steven R.,
Jones Les P.,
Howe Jane Y.,
Tripp Ralph A.,
Zhao Yiping
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
chemistryselect
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.437
H-Index - 34
ISSN - 2365-6549
DOI - 10.1002/slct.201600164
Subject(s) - nanorod , photocurrent , hydrothermal circulation , materials science , visible spectrum , band gap , nanotechnology , semiconductor , hydrothermal synthesis , methylene blue , optoelectronics , photocatalysis , chemical engineering , chemistry , catalysis , organic chemistry , engineering
Narrow bandgap semiconductor CuBi 2 O 4 microstructures such as three dimensional hierarchical microspheres, micro‐flowers, one dimensional microrods and nanorods were fabricated through a facile hydrothermal synthesis approach by systematically changing the synthesis conditions. Their optical properties and photocatalytical performances under visible light illumination were characterized. The hierarchical micro‐flower shaped CuBi 2 O 4 sample showed a high photodecay rate of 0.114 ± 0.002 h −1 with 1 mg/ml CuBi 2 O 4 concentration for methylene blue (30 μM). Under the illumination of an AM 1.5G solar simulator, a 0.02 mA/cm 2 stable cathodic photocurrent density was observed at a low negative bias voltage (‐0.25 V vs (Ag/AgCl)). The micro‐flower shaped CuBi 2 O 4 sample also showed a high antibacterial effect against Escherichia coli , with ∼ 93 % bacteria reduction after 6 h illumination by a commercial white LED light (10 mW/cm 2 ). These results indicate that CuBi 2 O 4 can be a promising candidate for visible light driven energy conversion and antimicrobial applications.