Solvothermal fabrication and enhanced visible light photocatalytic activity of Cu2O-reduced graphene oxide composite microspheres for photodegradation of Rhodamine B

Abstract

The addition of graphene oxide (GO) in the semiconductors has been regarded as one of the effective methods to enhance their photocatalytic activity. In this study, Cu2O-reduced graphene oxide (Cu2O-rGO) composites with low loading (0–0.5wt.%) of graphene oxide (GO) were produced by a one-step green solvothermal method in ethanol system by using Cu(NO3)2·3H2O and glutamic acid as copper precursor and reducing agent, respectively. During the solvothermal treatment, GO was reduced to rGO. The as-prepared Cu2O-reduced graphene oxide composite microspheres exhibited enhanced photocatalytic activity toward the degradation of RhB aqueous solution under visible light irradiation. At the optimal loading of graphene oxide (0.05wt.%), Cu2O-rGO composites showed the highest photocatalytic activity, exceeding that of pure Cu2O and commercial Degussa P25 by a factor of 2.9 and 7.9, respectively. The enhanced photocatalytic activity may be ascribed to the strong coupling interaction between Cu2O particles and rGO nanosheets, which reduces the recombination of charge carriers.