Green fabrication of large-size Cu2Se hexagonal sheets with visible light photocatalytic activity

Thin Cu2Se hexagonal sheets (HSs) with large-size were obtained via a convenient green route by using Ascorbic acid (AC) as a reducing agent and β-CD as a surfactant. The crystal structure and optical properties of the Cu2Se HSs were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS) and ultraviolet–visible spectrophotometer (UV–Vis). An NTH (Nucleation-Triangle-Hexagonal) mechanism for the formation of the Cu2Se hexagonal sheets was proposed. The final morphology of the Cu2Se HSs was determined by both β-CD and the growth rates of different crystal planes. The as-prepared Cu2Se HSs show good photocatalytic performance on degrading of Methylene blue (MB) under visible light.