Fabrication of MCC/Cu2O/GO composite foam with high photocatalytic degradation ability toward methylene blue

In this work, cuprous oxide (Cu2O) particles and graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets were simultaneously incorporated into the microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) foam to fabricate the MCC/Cu2O/GO composite foam toward methylene blue (MB) photocatalytic degradation. The interaction between Cu2O and GO and the morphologies of the composite foams were investigated. The results showed that there was a hydrogen bonding interaction between Cu2O and GO, which promoted the exfoliation of GO nanosheets and the dispersion of Cu2O in the composite foam. The MCC/Cu2O/GO composite foams not only exhibited high photocatalytic degradation ratio toward MB compared with the pure Cu2O particles and the common MCC/Cu2O composite foams, but also exhibited much higher derogation rate compared with the Cu2O-based photocatalytic degradation materials as reported in literature. A concept of 'micro-reactor' was proposed to explain the mechanisms for the largely enhanced degradation rate. Furthermore, the cycling measurements for the photocatalytic degradation of MB was also evaluated.