Effect of growth parameters on photocatalytic properties of CuO nanowires fabricated by direct oxidation

CuO nanowires were grown on Cu substrate by direct oxidation method. Different growth temperatures from 400 to 600 degrees C were investigated in order to find optimum growth conditions. The results showed that annealing the substrate at 400 degrees C for 4 h in air is suitable for CuO nanowire growth with average diameter of about 50 nm. However, annealing the substrate at 500 degrees C results in dense growth and relatively aligned nanowires. The alignment of nanowires improves by annealing at 600 degrees C but the denseness of nanowires reduces. The photocatalytic activities of CuO nanowires were studied by photocatalytic degradation of Congo red dye using a homemade photoreactor. The nanowires grown at 500 degrees C revealed the best photocatalytic performance. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.