Fabrication and photocatalytic property of ZnO/Cu2O core-shell nanocomposites

ZnO/Cu2O core-shell nanocomposites (ZnO/Cu2OCSNCs) were successfully synthesized by a facile solution method. The samples were characterized by XRD, XPS, SEM, TEM and UV-vis absorption spectra. Results showed that ZnO nanorods coated by Cu2O nanoparticles formed typical core-shell structures, and the ZnO/Cu2OCSNCs were able to absorb a large part of visible light and exhibited an excellent photocatalytic activity. It was found that the n-ZnO/p-Cu2O heterojunction played a key role in enhancing photocatalytic activity of the ZnO/Cu2O CSNCs. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.