Abstract
Monodisperse Cu2O with cubic, flower-like and hierarchical microspheric structures were synthesized by a simple polyol method using different copper salts, i.e. (Cu(acac)2, Cu(OH)2 and Cu(Ac)2*H2O). Moreover, the effects of morphology on the electrochemical properties were investigated in detail through various characterization methods including SEM, TEM, XRD, UV-Vis DRS, Photoluminescence Spectroscopy and Time Resolved Microwave Conductivity.
Among these three structures, Cu2O with the microspheric morphology showed the highest specific capacitance and better cycling stability than that of Cu2O with the cubic and flower-like structures. This structure also bears a larger volume charge during the electrochemical reaction due to the rough surface of uniform microspheres.
Methyl orange adsorption-degradation study was carried out to investigate the MO adsorption and photocatalytic activity of Cu2O with different morphologies. The results of the studies indicated that the edge-and corner-truncated Cu2O polyhedral particles presented slightly lower MO adsorption than the cubic ones, which is attributed to the presence of oxygen vacancies. The Cu2O cubes showed no adsorption of MO, but they presented a higher photocatalytic activity than the defective polyhedra.