Preparation of Cu2O/TiO2 Heterostructure with High Visible-Light Photocatalytic Activity

The Cu2O/TiO2 heterostructure nanocomposites photocatalysts with different molar ratios of Cu2+/Ti4+ were successfully synthesized by a simple hydrothermal procedure. The obtained samples were characterized by XRD, SEM, UV-vis DRS in order to detect the composition, the shape and the property. The photocatalytic activity of Cu2O/TiO2 nanocomposites was evaluated by the degradation of methyl orange (MO) as a model compound. The experimental results showed that the prepared Cu2O/TiO2 nanocomposites exhibited higher photocatalytic activity for the degradation of MO than the pure Cu2O and the commercial anatase TiO2 under visible light irradiation.