Preparation and characterization of CuCrO₂/TiO₂ heterostructure photocatalyst with enhanced photocatalytic activity

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • p-CuCrO₂/n-TiO₂ heterostructure photocatalysts were fabricated for the first time. • The p–n heterojunctions were formed between CuCrO₂ nanoparticle and TiO₂ nanorod. • The degradation activity of CuCrO₂/TiO₂ was much higher than that of pure TiO₂. • CuCrO₂/TiO₂ has better separation efficiency of photogenerated electron and hole. - Abstract: A series of novel p-type CuCrO₂/n-type TiO₂ heterostructure photocatalysts were fabricated for the first time by depositing CuCrO₂ nanoparticles on TiO₂ nanorod-array film through a facile spin-coating method. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and photocurrent response were employed to characterize the as-synthesized composites. The photocatalytic activity of CuCrO₂/TiO₂ for degradation of methylene blue (MB) aqueous solution was much higher than pure TiO₂, which could be ascribed to the formation of p–n heterojunctions between CuCrO₂ nanoparticles and TiO₂ nanorods. In particular, the best degradation efficiency of CuCrO₂/TiO₂ heterojunction was 85.3%, about 1.14 times higher than pure TiO₂ (74.6%), which could be attributed to their high separation efficiency of photogenerated electrons and holes. It is expected this strategy of p–n junction for enhancing photocatalytic activity can have considerable impact to promote the development of high efficient photocatalyst and industrial application for degrading pollutant, treating waste water and other environmental protection fields