Increasing Effectiveness of Photogenerated Carriers by in Situ Anchoring of Cu2O Nanoparticles on a Nitrogen-Doped Porous Carbon Yolk–Shell Cuboctahedral Framework

An efficient photocatalyst should maximize utilization of sunlight and minimize recombination of photogenerated electron–hole pairs. Thus, searching for a simple approach to develop low-cost efficient photocatalysts to improve the utilization ratio of sunlight and boost the photogenerated charge carrier lifetime is very important and challenging. In this article, anchoring Cu2O nanoparticles (NPs) in situ on a nitrogen-doped porous carbon yolk–shell cuboctahedral (CNPC) framework has been successfully carried out by direct derivation from a benzimidazole-modified Cu-btc MOF (btc = benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylate, MOF = metal–organic framework) template. The prepared CNPC showed high photoredox catalysis in forming C–C bond reactions, resulting from the prolonged lifetime of photogenerated electrons and holes, multiple reflections of light by the yolk–shell structure, and improved stability and dispersibility of Cu2O NPs. Our study provided a simple way to designing low-cost, efficient heterostuctured photocatalysts.