Oxygen-deficient photostable Cu₂O for enhanced visible light photocatalytic activity

Oxygen vacancies in inorganic semiconductors play an important role in reducing electron-hole recombination, which may have important implications in photocatalysis. Cuprous oxide (Cu₂O), a visible light active p-type semiconductor, is a promising photocatalyst. However, the synthesis of photostable Cu₂O enriched with oxygen defects remains a challenge. We report a simple method for the gram-scale synthesis of highly photostable Cu₂O nanoparticles by the hydrolysis of a Cu(i)-triethylamine [Cu(i)-TEA] complex at low temperature. The oxygen vacancies in these Cu₂O nanoparticles led to a significant increase in the lifetimes of photogenerated charge carriers upon excitation with visible light. This, in combination with a suitable energy band structure, allowed Cu₂O nanoparticles to exhibit outstanding photoactivity in visible light through the generation of electron-mediated hydroxyl (OH) radicals. This study highlights the significance of oxygen defects in enhancing the photocatalytic performance of promising semiconductor photocatalysts.