Enhanced visible light photocatalytic activity by Cu2O-coupled flower-like Bi2WO6 structures

Abstract

Cu2O nanodots decorated flower-like Bi2WO6 were prepared via an interfacial self-assembly method. The Cu2O nanodots, with an average diameters of 20nm, were dispersed on the surface of Bi2WO6 uniformly, as evidenced by characterization of the structure and composition. The as-prepared Cu2O/Bi2WO6 hybrid photocatalysts revealed the lower charge-transfer resistance, higher photocurrent intensity and the outstanding photocatalytic activity. The 3wt% Cu2O/Bi2WO6 composites showed the highest degrade rate for methylene blue (MB), which was 2.14 and 12.25 times that of the pure Bi2WO6 and Cu2O, respectively. Significantly, the superior stability was also observed in the five cyclic runs. The enhanced photocatalytic performance was attributed to the enhancement of visible light absorption efficiency as well as the efficient photo-generated charge separation originated from a strong interaction in the intimately contact interface, which was confirmed by the results of photocurrent and EIS measurements. Based on the experimental results, a mechanisms on enhancement of photocatalytic activity have been emphasized.