Constructing Two-Dimensional Carbonitride Carbon/Cuprous Oxide Nanoheterostructures Toward Enhanced Visible Light Photodegradation of Organic Pollutants

Small specific surface area as well as fast recombination rate of photoelectron–hole pairs deteriorated the photocatalytic performances of carbonitride carbon (g-C 3 N 4 ) in solving environmental pollution and energy crises. In this study, cuprous oxide (Cu 2 O) nanocubes grew on the g-C 3 N 4 porous nanosheet to form a n–p nanoheterostructure. This unique structure of the prepared g-C 3 N 4 /Cu 2 O photocatalyst resulted in the photogenerated electron–hole pairs having enhanced separation rates. Under visible light irradiation, heterojunction degradation ability of methyl orange was significantly increased and its enhanced mechanism was systematically studied.