Design of a highly photocatalytically active ZnO/CuWO4 nanocomposite

Abstract

Here we report the synthesis, photocatalytic activity and mechanistic study of a novel charge separation heterostructure (HTS). A ZnO/CuWO4 HTS material is reported for the first time. The nanocomposite (NC) consist of CuWO4 nanoparticles (ca. 200–400nm) decorated with ZnO nanorods (ca. 30nm, 100nm length) and is shown to be a highly active photocatalyst for the decomposition of model contaminants including methyl orange (MO) and terephthalic acid (TPA). The ZnO/CuWO4 interface is shown to be key in controlling the enhanced activity of the composite material. Transient absorption (TA) spectroscopy studies demonstrate that photoinduced charge transfer across the ZnO/CuWO4 interface increases electron-hole lifetimes by 3 orders of magnitude, from <20μs in ZnO to 30ms in the ZnO/CuWO4 NC sample. Our findings show that through interface design efficient HTS materials can be prepared for a wide range of photocatalytic applications.