Fabrication of n-SrTiO3/p-Cu2O heterojunction composites with enhanced photocatalytic performance

In order to further improve the photocatalytic activity, Cu2O coupled with SrTiO3 was for the first time constructed by introducing SrTiO3 to Cu2O and synthesized via a two-step route. The obtained n-SrTiO3/p-Cu2O heterojunction photocatalysts were systematically characterized by XRD, XPS, SEM, UV-vis spectra, etc., showing that n-SrTiO3/p-Cu2O composites were formed by coupling SrTiO3 submicroparticles with Cu2O cubic micrometer structure. Photocatalytic results demonstrated that the introduction of SrTiO3 brought about significant enhancement of photocatalytic activity of Cu2O, which led to the fact that SrTiO3 could serve as cocatalyst for the degradation of pollutant MB by forming p-n heterojunction to accelerate photo-generated charge carriers separation and migration and providing enriched active sites. The obtained n-SrTiO3/p-Cu2O heterojunction composites showed good stability and recyclability in the process of photo-degradation. Besides, the possible photocatalytic mechanism was proposed.