Design of preparation parameters for commendable photocatalytic properties in CuO nanostructures

Abstract

Three-dimensional nanowire-assembled CuO nanostructures have been successfully synthesized via a mild hydrothermal process. The as-obtained CuO nanostructures have been characterized their structure, morphology, optical performance and photocatalytic property by means of XRD, FESEM, UV–Vis and photodecomposition test. We systematically investigated that the reactant concentration, hydrothermal temperature, hydrothermal time and surfactant CTAB have effect on the growth of CuO nanostructures. Furthermore, a possible growth mechanism of the obtained CuO nanostructures has been discussed in detail. The detailed characterizations revealed that synthesized CuO nanostructures with monoclinic structure had a single-crystalline phase. The measured optical band gaps were 1.69 and 1.72 eV, which existed blue shift compared with the bulk CuO crystals. Meaningfully, the nanowire-assembled CuO nanostructures exhibited excellent photocatalytic property, in which the photodegradation rate of MB can reach up to 93.4%. Eventually, a tentative photodegradation mechanism of nanowire-assembled CuO nanostructures was proposed.