Preparation of cubic Cu2O nanoparticles wrapped by reduced graphene oxide for the efficient removal of rhodamine B

Cu2O nanoparticles evenly distributed on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) to form Cu2O/rGO nano-composites were fabricated by a facile in-situ wet-reduced method. The crystalline structure, morphologies and photoluminescence of the Cu2O/rGO nanocomposites were characterized and analyzed. The photocatalytic activity of Cu2O/rGO nanocomposites was evaluated by the removal of rhodamine B (RhB) aqueous solution under visible light irradiation. In comparison with the pure Cu2O nanoparticles, the as-synthesized Cu2O/rGO nanocomposites show the wonderful photocatalytic activity and the corresponding removal rate of RhB achieved more than 95%. A possible photocatalytic mechanism for the Cu2O/GO nanocomposites with enhanced photocatalytic activity could be ascribed to the enhanced adsorption intensity and effective charge carriers separation by RGO. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.