Fabrication of Cu@AgCl nanocables for their enhanced activity toward the catalytic degradation of 4-chlorophenol

Partial and full AgCl nanoparticles (NPs) covered Cu@AgCl nanocables were fabricated based on Cu nanowires (NWs) through structure-director-induced assembly process in this work. The full covered Cu@AgCl nanocables, with the average diameter of ∼50 nm, consist of Cu NWs core at diameter of ∼20 nm and outer AgCl NPs shells with thickness of ∼15 nm. Using as UV-driven photocatalysts, as-designed Cu@AgCl nanocables exhibit high performance and stability for the catalytic degradation of 4-chlorophenol pollutants. Compared with the as-prepared Cu NWs, AgCl NPs, partial AgCl NPs covered Cu@AgCl nanocables and the reference photocatalysts P25-TiO2, full AgCl NPs covered Cu@AgCl nanocables exhibit much higher photocatalytic activity (nearly 91% conversion) toward the degradation of 4-chlorophenol with the reaction rate constant (k) of 0.026 min−1. Cu NWs are found to play important roles in quickly transferring photoelectrons, facilitating more effective separation of photoinduced electrons and holes and reducing the charge recombination due to their the high conductivity.

Graphical abstractCu@AgCl nanocables fabricated via induced-reaction process based on Cu nanowires reveal excellent photocatalytic performance for the degradation of 4-chlorophenol under UV-light irradiation, suggesting the application for wiping off refractory chlorophenol contaminants in the aquatic environment.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload high-quality image (100 K)Download as PowerPoint slide