Here we report the photocatalytic efficiency of CuO and Cu<inf>2</inf>O nanowires studied by dye degradation in water. The CuO nanowires were synthesized on Cu foils by thermal oxidation. A subsequent thermal annealing induced a controllable phase transformation of the nanowires and the underlying film from CuO to Cu<inf>2</inf>O phase. A structural characterization was made by scanning and transmission electron microscopies, energy dispersive x-ray analysis and x-ray diffraction. The photocatalytic performances were evaluated by the degradation of two dyes in water: methylene blue and methyl orange. In particular, CuO nanowires showed a good photocatalytic activity in degrading methyl orange, compared with Cu<inf>2</inf>O nanowires. The photocatalytic activity was correlated to the physical-chemical properties of the samples, revealing the detrimental effect of the polycrystalline structure for photocatalytic process.
Photocatalytic activity of CuO and Cu2 O nanowires
Scuderi V;Amiard G;Boninelli S;Scalese S;Miritello M;Impellizzeri G;Privitera V
2016
Abstract
Here we report the photocatalytic efficiency of CuO and CuI documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.