Refinement of Nanoporous Cu by Polyvinylpyrrolidone and Photodegradation of Methyl Orange by Cu2O Nanowires and Nanoporous Cu Photocatalysts

Refinement of nanoporous Cu (NP Cu) by the addition of Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) in HF solution during dealloying of Ti40.6Zr9.4Cu40.6Ni6.3Sn3.1 amorphous ribbons and effect of the surface coverage of Cu2O nanowires obtained by immersing NP Cu in dehydrated ethanol on the photodegradation of methyl orange (MO) pollutants were investigated. The sizes of pores and ligaments of NP Cu decrease significantly with the increase of PVP concentration in the dealloying solutions, accompanied by a drastic decrease in the surface diffusivity and the dislocation defect densities. The surface coverage of Cu2O nanowires becomes higher with an increase of the PVP reagents. The Cu2O nanowires@nanoporous Cu (Cu2O@NP Cu) catalysts show excellent photocatalytic activity towards the degradation of MO under the sunlight due to the existence of large amounts of heterojunctions between Cu2O nanowires and Cu ligaments in nanoscale. Keywords: nanoporous Cu, Cu2O nanowires, dealloying, suppressed diffusivity by PVP, photodegradation.