Preparation of Nano-Cu₂O by a Forced Hydrolysis and Chemical Reduction Method and Its Photocatalytic Performance

Taking Cu(CH3COO)2·2H2O as the copper source, mixed solution of water and ethylene glycol as solvent, nano-Cu2O was prepared by a forced hydrolysis and chemical reduction method under reflow condition. The factors affecting the crystallization degree and grain size were analyzed and the photocatalytic performance was tested. The results show that the volume ratio of water to ethylene glycol, reflow reaction time and initial concentration of Cu(CH3COO)2 had important effects on the crystallyzation degree and grain size of Cu2O. The prepared Cu2O exhibited higher activity than the commercial P25 TiO2, and the degradation rate of the methyl orange was 89% after visible light irradiation for 210 min with Cu2O as a photocatalyst.