Facile Fabrication of Cu(2)O Nanobelts in Ethanol on Nanoporous Cu and Their Photodegradation of Methyl Orange

Thin cupric oxide (Cu(2)O) nanobelts with width of few tens of nanometers to few hundreds of nanometers were fabricated in anhydrous ethanol on nanoporous copper templates that was prepared via dealloying amorphous Ti(40)Cu(60) ribbons in hydrofluoric acid solutions at 348 K. The Cu(2)O octahedral particles preferentially form in the water, and nanobelts readily undergo the growth along the lengthwise and widthwise in the anhydrous ethanol. The ethanol molecules serve as stabilizing or capping reagents, and play a key role of the formation of two-dimensional Cu(2)O nanobelts. Cu atoms at weak sites (i.e., twin boundary) on the nanoporous Cu ligaments are ionized to form Cu(2+) cations, and then react with OH(−) to form Cu(2)O and H(2)O. The two-dimensional growth of Cu(2)O nanostructure is preferred in anhydrous ethanol due to the suppression of random growth of Cu(2)O nanoarchitectures by ethanol. Cu(2)O nanobelts have superior photodegradation performance of methyl orange, three times higher than nanoporous Cu.