Facile synthesis of Cu2O nanocube/polycarbazole composites and their high visible-light photocatalytic properties

Cu₂O nanocube/polycarbazole composites have been prepared by an one-pot solvothermal process using carbazole as a reductant. The polycarbazole layer not only protected and stabilized Cu₂O particles, but also prohibited the recombination of photogenerated electrons-holes pair and facilitated interfacial charge transfer between polycarbazole and Cu₂O. The composition, structure and morphology of the obtained products was systematically studied by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and UV-visible spectrophotometer. Furthermore, the visible-light photocatalytic behavior of the Cu₂O nanocube/polycarbazole composites on the methyl orange was investigated.