TiO2/C/Cu hybrids by in-situ carbon reduction for a green photocatalytic agent

TiO₂ semiconductor has the disadvantages of energy bandwidth, low photo-quantum efficiency, and electron-hole pair easy recombination, which makes TiO₂ semiconductor photocatalytic materials cannot be widely used efficiently. Here, a simple and low-cost method is used to prepare TiO₂/C/Cu hybrid by in-situ carbon reduction by chemical vapor deposition. During high-temperature calcination, an amorphous carbon is formed on the surface of anatase TiO₂, and CuO is reduced by in-situ carbon to obtain Cu. Partial Cu-doping into TiO₂ introduces defects, and in-situ Cu and C loads act as electron traps to reduce photogenerated electron/hole recombination. Compared with the original TiO₂, the TiO₂/C/Cu hybrids have a narrow band gap (2.77 eV) and abundant defect active sites and have excellent photocatalytic activity to improve the degradation of formaldehyde (HCHO) and methyl orange (MO) under visible light. In addition, after 4 cycles, the degradation of HCHO and MO still maintained excellent stability. This innovation has many potential applications in the future, including air purification and industry.