Development of Cu2O composites assisted with palygorskite nanorods for enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activities

Cu2O-based composites had a promising potential for various applications including photocatalysts, solar cells, carbon monoxide oxidation, sensors, and so on. Here, a series of novel visible-light-driven palygorskite (PAL)/Cu2O heterostructures were fabricated via facile deposition-precipitation and reduction methods. The relevant characterization analysis demonstrated that the content of palygorskite played a vital role on the morphologies and optical absorption properties of composites. Compared with pristine Cu2O, the photocatalytic performance and stability of as-prepared PAL/Cu2O composites were obviously enhanced for MO degradation under visible light irradiation, which was mainly ascribed to the construction of heterostructures. It was shown that the tight interface contacts between two components effectively accelerated the transfer and separation of photogenerated holes and electrons. This work may provide some insights into various technological applications of palygorskite for effective light utilization.