Enhanced Photodegradation Activity of Organic Pollutants Contained in Sewage Through Construction of a CuO/Ag Composite Nanostructure

Noble metal deposition is one of the most effective optimization methods for improving the photochemical properties of metal semiconductor oxides. In this paper, vertically aligned CuO nanowires were synthesized by means of a facile thermal oxidation method on Cu mesh. Subsequently, Ag nanoparticles were deposited on the surface of the CuO nanowires by vacuum coating, forming a CuO/Ag composite nanostructure. The morphology, phase structure, elemental distribution, wetting properties and optical properties of the CuO/Ag composite nanostructures were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, energy dispersion spectrometry, contact angle measurement and UV–Vis spectrophotometry, respectively. We also explored the effect of the amount of Ag nanoparticle deposition on the structure and properties of CuO/Ag composite nanomaterials. The CuO/Ag composite nanostructures exhibited better photocatalytic properties and were found to effectively degrade organic pollutants in sewage, after Ag nanoparticle deposition.