One-pot green hydrothermal synthesis and visible-light photocatalytic properties of Cu2O/Cu hybrid composites using egg albumin as structure modifier

The Cu2O/Cu hybrid composites were successfully prepared via a simple one-pot green hydrothermal method using egg albumin as structure modifier. The phase structures, surface morphologies, chemical and optical properties of the samples were characterized by using XRD, FE-SEM, FT-IR and UV-Vis spectra. The effects of egg albumin amounts, holding time and molar ratio of raw materials on product structure were studied and bonding mechanism of Cu2O/Cu nanoparticles with egg albumin was discussed. BET specific surface areas and BJH pore size distributions were determined from N-2 adsorption-desorption isotherms. The photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants of the Cu2O/Cu hybrid composite was investigated and possible photocatalytic mechanism of Cu2O/Cu hybrid composites were proposed. The degradation rate of MB without any catalysts was only 3.33%, while the degradation rate of MB in the Cu2O/Cu + H2O2 system under visible light after 80 min was as high as 87.74% and the photo-degradation reaction rate was (244.6 +/- 42.0) x 10(-4) min(-4). H2O2 and Cu2O/Cu composite had a synergistic action in photodegradation process of MB, which exhibited its potential as an excellent photocatalyst for degradation of MB under visible light irradiation.