Preparation and Characterization of Cu3(MoO4)2(OH)2 Nanosheets with Solar Photocatalytic Activity

Abstract The monoclinic Cu 3 (MoO 4 ) 2 (OH) 2 nanosheets exposed mainly as (010) facet were successfully prepared by a hydrothermal method using orthorhombic phase (NH 4 ) 2 Mo 4 O 13 nanosheets as the raw materials. The formation mechanism from the layered (NH 4 ) 2 Mo 4 O 13 nanosheets to the Cu 3 (MoO 4 ) 2 (OH) 2 nanosheets in the reaction was discussed in detail. The crystal structure and morphology of Cu 3 (MoO 4 ) 2 (OH) 2 nanosheets were revealed by XRD, FE‐SEM, TEM, SAED, UV‐vis DRS, EDX, XPS, FTIR and Raman spectroscopy. Furthermore, the photocatalytic performance of the Cu 3 (MoO 4 ) 2 (OH) 2 nanosheets as a photocatalyst was evaluated by splitting water under the simulated sunlight. The results showed that the photocurrent density and the generated H 2 of the prepared sample Cu 3 (MoO 4 ) 2 (OH) 2 nanosheets are 20.7 μA⋅cm −2 and 154.5 μmol⋅h −1 ⋅g −1 , respectively, which are 0.7 times higher than those generated by the control ST01. The results indicate that the Cu 3 (MoO 4 ) 2 (OH) 2 nanosheets have potential application value in photocatalysts and photovoltaic nanodevices.