In Situ Photochemical Synthesis of Zn-Doped Cu2O Hollow Microcubes for High Efficient Photocatalytic H2 Production

Traditionally, Cu ion-based oxide materials are considered not functional as photocatalysts owing to their instability in the photoelectrochemical processes. Here, we report on the light-induced photochemical synthesis of Cu 2 O microcubes utilizing CuWO 4 as the precursor. It was found that under light irradiation and in the presence of glucose CuWO 4 could be reduced in situ into Cu 2 O with its morphology reassembled from irregular bulk particles to hollow microcubes. Similar morphology transformation could not be observed when CuO or Cu(NO 3 ) 2 were used as precursors. More importantly, the in situ photochemical-synthesized Cu 2 O naoncubes showed both high activity and excellent stability for glucose reforming under visible light, which overcame the general barrier of Cu 2 O instability in photochemical processes. The activity could be remarkably enhanced when 0.1 wt % Zn was doped into the Cu 2 O. The excellent performances of the material were related to the existence of hollow microcubes and the modified band structure due to Zn doping.