Facile preparation of Cu2O/carbon sphere heterostructure with high photocatalytic activity

Cu2O/carbon sphere (CS) heterostructure was prepared via a relatively facile chemical reduction method, using a single-source molecule (cupric acetate) as precursor and CS as a support material. The heterostructure was characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscope, and transmission electron microscopy. The performance of the Cu2O/CS heterostructure as photocatalyst was evaluated via using methyl orange (MO) as the probe molecule. The photocatalytic activity of Cu2O/CS heterostructure was improved obviously comparing with pure Cu2O and the possible reason was discussed. The results demonstrate the potential application of this easy synthesized method for photocatalyst preparation.

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► In this work, we have prepared Cu2O/CS heterostructure composites via a relatively facile chemical reduction method.
► The heterostructure was characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscope, and transmission electron microscopy.
► The photocatalytic activity of Cu2O/CS heterostructure was improved obviously comparing with pure Cu2O and the possible reason was discussed.