The Photocatalytic Properties of Al‐doped ZnO Nanotubes Decorated with Cu2O Nanoparticles

Al‐doped ZnO nanotubes (NTs) decorated with Cu2O particles (Al‐ZnO/Cu2O NTs) are prepared by a two‐step hydrothermal method, and the photocatalytic properties are examined by the degradation of methyl orange (MO) solution under simulated solar light at room temperature. Compared with the Al‐doped ZnO nanorods (Al‐ZnO NRs) and the Al‐doped ZnO NTs (Al‐ZnO NTs), the Al‐ZnO/Cu2O NTs exhibit better photocatalytic properties. The improvement of photocatalytic performance of Al‐ZnO/Cu2O NTs is attributed to both Cu2O particle decoration and NT structures. In the samples, the decoration of Cu2O particles can prolong the exciton lifetimes, and the NT structures increase specific area. Therefore, both of these two conditions contribute to improved photocatalytic efficiency. The Al‐doped ZnO nanotubes (NTs) decorated with Cu2O particles are prepared on an Al‐doped ZnO seed layer via a two‐step hydrothermal method. The enhancement of photocatalytic performance originates not only from the high specific surface area of NT structures, but also from the decoration of Cu2O particles.