Fabrication of CuO/T-ZnOw nanocomposites using photo-deposition and their photocatalytic property

CuO/tetrapod-like ZnO whisker (T-ZnOw) nanocomposites were successfully synthesized using a simple photo-deposition method. Some nanocomposites exhibit remarkably improved photocatalytic property, while the extents of the improvements vary with different Cu/Zn molar ratios and polyethylene glycol (PEG) concentrations. Moreover, it is found that excessively high Cu/Zn molar ratio or PEG concentration would reduce the photocatalytic property of the nanocomposites. A direct relationship between the morphology and the photocatalytic property of CuO/T-ZnOw was established and then analyzed by discussing the photocatalytic mechanism of the CuO/T-ZnOw nanocomposites.