Synthesis of GO-modified Cu2O nanosphere and the photocatalytic mechanism of water splitting for hydrogen production

A new one-step method for synthesize cuprous oxide nanosphere without any additive surfactant in room temperature and atmospheric pressure was carried. The nanospheres with the diameters less than 100 nm were well-dispersed and formed the core-shell structure with the GO. The partial reduction of GO increases the atomic percentage of sp2 carbon (graphene sheets). It was found that sp2 carbon with better conductivity plays an important role in mitigating electron-hole recombination and enhancing electron transfer between Cu2O and GO and thus enhance the photocatalytic activity. The highest hydrogen yields for GO-modified samples (118.3 μmol) were more than twice as large as that of bare Cu2O nanosphere (44.6 μmol).