Synergistic effects of CuO and Au nanodomains on Cu_2O cubes for improving photocatalytic activity and stability

Cu2O is a promising photocatalyst,but it suffers from poor photocatalytic activity and stability,especially for Cu2O cubes.Herein,we report the deposition of CuO and Au nanodomains on Cu2O cubes to form dual surface heterostructures(HCs)to improve photocatalytic activity and stability.The apparent quantum efficiency of Au/CuO/Cu2O HCs was ca.123 times that of pristine Cu2O.In addition,the Au/CuO/Cu2O HCs maintained nearly 80%of its original activity after eight cycles in contrast to five cycles for the Au/Cu2O material.Therefore,CuO and Au domains greatly improved the photocatalytic activity and stability of the Cu2O cubes due to the synergistic effect of the HCs.

Synthesis of PdS-CdSe@CdS-Au nanorods with asymmetric tips with improved H_2 production efficiency in water splitting and increased photostability

Charge separation is a crucial problem in photocatalysis.We used a wet‐chemical method to synthesize asymmetrically tipped PdS‐CdSe‐seeded CdS(CdSe@CdS)‐Au nanorod(NR)heterostructures(HCs).In these HCs,electrons and holes are rapidly separated and transported to opposite ends of the NRs by internal electric fields.Their ultraviolet‐visible absorption spectra showed strong electronic coupling between both tips and the CdS body.PdS‐CdSe@CdS‐Au achieved a H2production rate of ca.1100?mol in5h;this is two orders of magnitude greater than the rate achieved with Au‐CdSe@CdS NRs with only one tip.PdS‐CdSe@CdS‐Au NRs can withstand4h of photoirradiation,compared to1.5h for CdSe@CdS NRs,indicating that the photostability of PdS‐CdSe@CdS‐Au is much better than that of CdS.The greatly improved photocatalytic activity and stability are attributed to efficient charge separation and rapid charge transport in the PdS‐CdSe@CdS‐Au HCs.