Ultrafine Cu_2O/CuO nanosheet arrays integrated with NPC/BMG composite rod for photocatalytic degradation

摘要

A free-standing Cu2O/CuO@nanoporous copper/bulk metallic glass (Cu2O/CuO@NPC/BMG) composite rod with a multimodal hierarchical porous structure has been successfully prepared by a facile two-step synthesis strategy consisting of dealloying and anodizing. The NPC/BMG composite is first fabricated by dealloying of Cu50Zr45Al5 BMG rod. Then the ultrafine Cu2O/CuO nanosheet arrays are synthesized by anodizing of the NPC/BMG rod followed by heat treatment. The as-obtained Cu2O/CuO@NPC/BMG composite possesses a multimodal hierarchical porous structure comprising interconnected pores ranging from micro, meso to macro sizes. It is worth pointing out that there are several "barren lands" without nanosheets grown on the surface of the composite. Further analyses indicate that the microstructures of substrate materials not only dominate the sizes of Cu2O/CuO sheets, but also influence the nucleation and growth of Cu2O/CuO sheets. Meanwhile, the possible formation mechanism of the Cu2O/CuO nanosheets is proposed. Accordingly, the Cu2O/CuO@NPC/BMG composite shows remarkably high photocatalytic degradation performance and excellent cycling stability for RhB due to the multimodal hierarchical porous structure, ultrafine Cu2O/CuO nanosheets in the entire NPC and the integration design strategy.