Photocatalytic and wettability behavior of regenerative bio-inspired CuxO (x=1,2)

Abstract A facile thermal oxidation method is utilized to synthesize CuxO (x=1,2) nanorods and further these nanorods are investigated extensively for their hydrophobic-hydrophilic property. Annealing condition is systematically tuned to obtain desired size and density of nanorods. These nanorods containing surfaces exhibit excellent photocatalytic activity and regeneration ability. The catalytic activity of nanorods is investigated by the reduction of 4-Nitrophenol to 4-Aminophenol using the reducing agent sodium borohydride (NaBH4). The highest obtained rate constant (k) for this conversion is found to be 9.45 min−1. The switching of the superhydrophobic surface into hydrophilic is observed upon exposure to the reducing atmosphere and the regeneration of the surface hydrophobicity with similar activity has been achieved. We also demonstrate the synergistic relationship between the effects of structural transformation on the contact angle, electrowetting, and the photocatalytic properties of CuxO (x=1,2) nanorods which can be used for the self-cleaning application.