Enhanced Photocatalytic Degradation of Rhodamine B by Cu2O Coated Silicon Nanowire Arrays in Presence of H2O2

Highly ordered Cu2O coated silicon nanowire arrays (SiNWAs) were fabricated as photocatalyst via depositing Cu nanoparticles on silver-assisted electroless-etched SiNWAs and subsequently annealing. The as-prepared samples have been characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and UV-VIS-NIR spectrophotometry. The photocatalytic properties of the Cu2O coated SiNWAs were investigated by degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) under simulated solar light with a cut-off filter (lambda > 420 nm). The results indicated that H2O2 could greatly improve the photocatalytic properties of Cu2O coated SiNWAs, and exhibited strong synergy effect between them. The hybrid nanowire arrays will be promising photocatalytic materials in the field of energy and environment.