One-pot synthesis of graphene–cuprous oxide composite with enhanced photocatalytic activity

In this paper, graphene–cuprous oxide (G–Cu2O) composites were synthesized at room temperature using graphene oxide (GO) as two-dimensional support. From Zeta potential analysis, the surface charge of G–Cu2O composites altered from positive to negative, which favors the adsorption and photodegradation of positively charged dyes. Compared with Cu2O under similar synthesis condition, the G–Cu2O composites demonstrated improved photodegradation activity for methylene blue (MB) dye under visible light. Controlled experiments indicated that the G–Cu2O composite synthesized with 80 mg GO in the reaction system possessed more negative Zeta potential, highest specific surface area and thus presented the highest photocatalytic activity. Electrons mechanism for the improved photocatalytic performance of G–Cu2O composite was proposed in the degradation of MB.

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► One step reduction of both graphene oxide and Cu(OH)2 by l-ascorbic acid to afford graphene–Cu2O composites.
► Formation of composites alter the surface charge from positive to negative.
► Graphene–Cu2O composites demonstrated improved visible light induced photocatalytic activity.