Facile Synthesis of Highly Efficient p–n Heterojunction CuO/BiFeO3 Composite Photocatalysts with Enhanced Visible‐Light Photocatalytic Activity

Abstract

AbstractA novel heterostructured CuO/BiFeO3 composite photocatalyst was successfully prepared through a simple combination of hydrothermal and impregnation process. CuO was uniformly deposited on the surface of BiFeO3 particles with a p–n heterojunction formed at the interface between CuO and BiFeO3. CuO/BiFeO3 heterostructured photocatalysts improved the UV/Vis spectral absorption ability, and exhibited enhanced photocatalytic activities for photodegradation of methylorange or a colorless compound (i.e., phenol) under visible light. In addition, after five recycles for the photodegradation of methylorange, CuO/BiFeO3 did not exhibit significant loss of photocatalytic activity, confirming its stability and long‐time reusability. The enhanced photocatalytic activity could be mainly ascribed to the p–n heterojunction structure between CuO and BiFeO3, which could significantly facilitate the separation and transfer of photogenerated electron–hole pairs. On the basis of the calculated energy bands, the photocatalytic mechanism was also proposed.