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Vol. 9 No. 3 (2017)

Design and Synthesis of Cu@CuS Yolk–Shell Structures with Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-017-0135-7
Qiuyan Li
Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Green Synthetic Chemistry for Functional Materials, Department of Chemistry, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Jiangsu Normal University, Xuzhou 221116, People’s Republic of China
Fan Wang
Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Green Synthetic Chemistry for Functional Materials, Department of Chemistry, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Jiangsu Normal University, Xuzhou 221116, People’s Republic of China
Linqiang Sun
Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Green Synthetic Chemistry for Functional Materials, Department of Chemistry, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Jiangsu Normal University, Xuzhou 221116, People’s Republic of China
Zhe Jiang
Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Green Synthetic Chemistry for Functional Materials, Department of Chemistry, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Jiangsu Normal University, Xuzhou 221116, People’s Republic of China
Tingting Ye
Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Green Synthetic Chemistry for Functional Materials, Department of Chemistry, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Jiangsu Normal University, Xuzhou 221116, People’s Republic of China
Meng Chen
Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Green Synthetic Chemistry for Functional Materials, Department of Chemistry, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Jiangsu Normal University, Xuzhou 221116, People’s Republic of China
Qiang Bai
College of Materials Science and Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266042, People’s Republic of China
Chao Wang
Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Green Synthetic Chemistry for Functional Materials, Department of Chemistry, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Jiangsu Normal University, Xuzhou 221116, People’s Republic of China
Xiguang Han
Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Green Synthetic Chemistry for Functional Materials, Department of Chemistry, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Jiangsu Normal University, Xuzhou 221116, People’s Republic of China

Corresponding Author: Xiguang Han

xghan@jsnu.edu.cn

Nano-Micro Letters, Vol. 9 No. 3 (2017), Article Number: 35

Abstract

Non-spherical Cu@CuS yolk–shell structures are successfully obtained using Cu2O cube templates in a process combining rapid surface sulfidation followed by disproportionation of the Cu2O core upon treatment with a hydrochloric acid solution. By employing the above method, Cu@CuS yolk–shell structures with different morphologies, including octahedral, truncated octahedral, and cuboctahedral shapes, can be synthesized. The void space within the hollow structures provides a unique confined space, where the metallic copper present in the core of a shell can be protected from agglomeration and oxidation. Furthermore, the presence of metal copper in these hollow structures contributes to improvement in the photocatalytic properties of these materials. The application of these Cu@CuS structures indeed shows clearly improved photocatalytic performance.


Highlights:


1 Non-spherical Cu@CuS yolk–shell structures with different morphologies, including octahedral, truncated octahedral, and cuboctahedral shapes, are successfully obtained using a strategy combining shell sulfidation and core disproportionation reaction.
2 The as-prepared Cu@CuS structures exhibited clearly remarkable photocatalytic performance.

Keywords

Nanomaterial Yolk–shell structure Cu@CuS Photocatalysis
Li, Qiuyan, Fan Wang, Linqiang Sun, Zhe Jiang, Tingting Ye, Meng Chen, Qiang Bai, Chao Wang, and Xiguang Han. 2017. “Design and Synthesis of Cu@CuS Yolk–Shell Structures With Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity”. Nano-Micro Letters 9 (3):35. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-017-0135-7.
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