Facile preparation photocatalytically active CuO plate-like nanoparticles from brochantite

•Dendrite-like brochantite microstructures obtained by facile precipitation method•Plate-like CuO nanoparticles were prepared by precursor calcination•CuO nanoplates showed enhanced photocatalytic activity under sunlight irradiation.

The dendrite-like brochantite Cu4[SO4](OH)6 microstructures were obtained by facile and cost effective precipitation method for preparation plate-like CuO nanostructures. The thermal stability and morphology of precursor investigated by XRD, TG-DTA and SEM methods. To estimate the thermal stability of precursor the series of brochantite annealing were carried out. According to XRD data above 400 °C CuO is the only product of decomposition of brochantite. XRD, AFM, SEM, UV–vis spectroscopy were employed to characterize the product of brochantite calcination. The CuO is composed of plate-like nanoparticles with a length up to hundreds nanometers and thickness about 30 nm. The investigation of photocatalytic activity shows high activity even in the absence of H2O2.