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Peony-like 3-dimensional copper hydroxyl phosphates are self-assembled on Cu foil.
The growth mechanism of copper hydroxyl phosphate flowers is proposed.
The as-designed nanomaterials can be used as a monolithic photocatalyst.
This nanocomposites show good optical-electrical and photocatalytic properties.
Novel self-assemble peony-like three-dimensional (3D) copper hydroxyl phosphate (Cu2(OH)PO4) was synthesized on the copper foil by a solution-growth method. The self-aggregate peony-like 3D Cu2(OH)PO4 flowers with the diameter size up to 10–20 μm were composed of hundreds of anisotropic cross-linking petals with several hundred nanometers wide and 110–170 nm thick. After the morphology and structure of these Cu2(OH)PO4 flowers were characterized by transmission electron microscope and scanning electron microscope, the possible growth process of Cu2(OH)PO4 flowers was proposed. The relationship between the shape of Cu2(OH)PO4 nanostructure and photocatalytic activity under visible light irradiation was also investigated. The results indicated that a thin petal and high content of Cu2(OH)PO4 flowers film on the copper substrate proved more convenient for extending their absorption edge to the visible light region, as well as giving a better photocatalytic performance.
2.3Measurements of Photocurrent and Photocatalysis
Photocurrent measurement was carried out in a standard electrochemical workstation coupled with a Xe lamp (Beijing China Education Au-light Co., Ltd). A UV-400 filter was used to cut wavelengths of the incident light. THe intensitiy of the incident light was 150mW/cm² and a 0.1M NaNO3 solution was used as supporting electrolyte.