Self-Assembly Growth and Photocatalytic Performance of Nanostructured Copper Compounds

Flowerlike CuO structures were synthesized by a simple chemical method. These 3D structures are formed by self-assembly growth of smaller nanosheets as basic building units. Their crystalline phase, morphology, and optical properties were characterized by XRD, field-emission SEM, and UV/Vis absorption spectroscopy. The effect of annealing on the morphology and properties of nanostructured Cu(OH)(2)/CuO was also investigated. The obtained CuO nanosheets with highly energetic (111) facets have excellent capacity for absorbing visible light, and their band-gap energies, which were evaluated from the UV/Vis spectrum, range from 1.33 to 1.70 eV. Hence, their photocatalytic performance in the degradation of methyl blue (MB) was evaluated, and the highest photocatalytic degree of degradation of MB was 93.3%. Further, the growth mechanism of the transformation from Cu(OH)(2) nanowires (or nanoscrolls) to 3D CuO structures is discussed.