Cu2O NPs/Bi2O2CO3 flower-like complex photocatalysts with enhanced visible light photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants

A facile and feasible interfacial self-assembly approach was developed to synthesize flower-like Cu2O/Bi2O2CO3 micro-composites. Degradation of methylene blue (MB) was used to evaluate the photocatalytic activity of composite under visible light. When compared to Bi2O2CO3, the flower-like Cu2O/Bi2O2CO3 micro-composites show higher photocatalytic activity. Additionally, our results indicate that the photocatalytic activity of Cu2O/Bi2O2CO3 composites is dependent on Cu2O loading. The highest photocatalytic performance of Cu2O/Bi2O2CO3 micro-composites is 94% after irradiation for 20min, which is 3-5 times that of pure Cu2O (calculated based on the equivalent Cu2O content in Cu2O/Bi2O2CO3) and pure Bi2O2CO3 respectively. Photocatalytic mechanism for the degradation of MB over Cu2O/Bi2O2CO3 was proposed based on the above. Our results provide an invaluable methodology for designing high visible-responsive photocatalysts based on Cu2O/bismuth and related functional materials, which is promising for semiconductor composites and new energy applications. (C) 2017 Published by Elsevier B.V.