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Cu2O concave hexapod microcrystals: selective facet etching and highly improved photocatalytic performance

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Abstract

In this work, a unique Cu2O hexapod microcrystal with {100} facets etched concave structure has been successfully synthesized by a facile oxide etching method. Air and chloride ion were employed as etchant and shape controller agent, respectively. For the facet-selective adsorption of chloride ions on {110} and {111} planes, the oxide molecules may prefer to act on {100} facets and induced the concave structure formation, along the [100] zone axis. The {100} facets selectively etched Cu2O concave hexapod microcrystal exhibited highly improved photocatalytic activities (2.2 times) than that of basic structure, and displayed facet-dependent characteristics, which made them promising candidates for photocatalysts and sensing materials.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 11602159, 51205276, and 61474079), the Special Talents in Shanxi Province (Grant No. 201605D211020), the Scientific and Technological Innovation Programs of Higher Education Institutions in Shanxi (Grant No. 2016136) and the 2018 Study Abroad Program for the University-Sponsored Young Teachers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Information and Computer, Micro-Nano System Research Center, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan, 030024, Shanxi, China

    Pengwei Li, Lina Liu, Dongjie Qin, Cuixian Luo, Gang Li, Jie Hu & Wendong Zhang

  2. Biomedical Optics Laboratory, Department of Medical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, 33620, USA

    Huabei Jiang

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  1. Pengwei Li
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  2. Lina Liu
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Contributions

Pengwei Li: Conceived and designed the study, revised and rewrote the paper. Lina Liu: Performed most of the experiments, wrote the manuscript. Dongjie Qin: Assisted in synthesis of Cu2O materials. Cuixian Luo: Reviewed and edited the manuscript. Gang Li: Reviewed and edited the manuscript. Jie Hu: Reviewed and edited the manuscript. Huabei Jiang: Reviewed and edited the manuscript. Wendong Zhang: Reviewed and edited the manuscript. All authors read and approved the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Pengwei Li.

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Li, P., Liu, L., Qin, D. et al. Cu2O concave hexapod microcrystals: selective facet etching and highly improved photocatalytic performance. J Mater Sci 54, 2876–2884 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-018-3031-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-018-3031-8

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