One-pot synthesis of cuprous oxide-reduced graphene oxide nanocomposite with enhanced photocatalytic and electrocatalytic performance

We report on the facile one-step synthesis of porous cuprous oxide nanoparticles on reduced graphene oxide (Cu2O-RGO) by synchronously reducing Cu2+ ions and GO with ethylene glycol. The basic chemical components, crystal structure and surface morphology of prepared nanocomposite was carefully characterized. The photocatalytic activities of the as-prepared nanocomposite was investigated by photodegrading methylene blue (MB) under visible light. The electrocatalytic property of the nanocomposite was investigated by electrocatalytic determination of acetaminophen. The results indicate that the corporation of RGO with Cu2O nanoparticles could high enhance the both photocatalytic and electrocatalytic properties. Moreover, we found that the content of RGO introduced into nanocomposite could highly affect the product properties.