Synthesis of high quality CuO nanoflakes and CuO-Au nanohybrids for superior visible light photocatalytic behavior

Well-defined CuO nanoflakes and CuO-Au nanohybrids are successfully obtained by a facile but effective wet chemistry synthesis method. Compared with CuO nanoflakes, the formation of high-quality CuO-Au nanohybrids can improve the visible light absorption efficiency, charge generation and separation efficiency through surface plasmon resonance (SPR), thus yielding remarkably enhanced photoelectrochemical and photocatalytic activities. CuO-Au nanohybrids with an optimized Au nanoparticle loading concentration (10 wt%) and particle size (∼15 nm) present the highest photocurrent density (46 μA cm^-2) and degradation rate constant (k = 0.64 h^-1), which are almost ∼4 times higher than those of the CuO nanoflakes. The high photocatalytic properties and robust synthesis of CuO-Au nanohybrids can expand new material systems for the visible light utilization of solar energy and effective treatment of organic pollutants.