Large-scale synthesis of hierarchical-structured weissite (Cu2−xTe) flake arrays and their catalytic properties

Large-scale weissite (Cu2−xTe) flake arrays with three-dimensional (3D) hierarchical structure have been successfully fabricated via a facile one-step solution-phase strategy through the reaction of tellurium powder and copper foam. At the end of the reaction Cu2−xTe flakes were distributed evenly on the surface of a porous solid copper substrate. Field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis showed the abundance of flakes grown on the 3D porous copper architecture, while X-ray diffraction (XRD) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectra (EDS) were used to determine the crystal structure and phase composition of these products. A series of experiments discovered that the size and morphology of the products could be affected by some reactive parameters including the reaction time, synthesis temperature and volume ratio of absolute ethanol/deionized water. Catalysis experiments using the in situ synthesized of Cu2−xTe flakes to catalyze the degradation of methylene blue (MB) demonstrated the strong catalytic ability of these flakes.