Preparation of Hierarchical CuO Nanoparticles and Their Photocatalytic Activity

The uniform hierarchical and microspheric copper oxide (CuO) nanostructures, which have been successfully prepared via a simple one-pot method. The detailed morphology and structure of the synthesized hierarchical and microspheric nanostructures were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) and UV visible spectroscopy. The morphology of CuO particles depends on the ammonium dihydrogen phosphate (ADP) used in the synthesis, the formation mechanisms were proposed based on the experimental results. The catalytic activity of as-synthesized CuO was demonstrated by catalytic oxidation of methylene blue in the presence of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and CuO with hierarchical nanostructures was found to be the best catalyst.