$$\hbox {CuBO}_{2}$$ CuBO 2 nanonetwork: a novel and significant candidate for photocatalytic dye degradation

$$\hbox {CuBO}_{2}$$ is a novel material in the research field of transparent conducting oxide. In this study, $$\hbox {CuBO}_{2}$$ nanostructures have been synthesized via sol–gel method. The phase formation is confirmed using an X-ray diffractometer. Detailed morphological analysis is performed by field emission scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. A novel uniform nanonetwork-like structure is obtained and its band gap is found to be 4.24 eV. In ultraviolet light irradiation, this as-synthesized sample shows efficient photocatalytic activity for degradation of organic dye Rhodamine B. The degradation efficiency and the rate constant were calculated as $$\sim $$ 70% and $$1.32\times 10^{-3}\,\hbox {min}^{-1}$$ , respectively. This nanonetwork-like structure can be a potential candidate as the base material to attach various metals and metal oxide nanostructures to get highly efficient future photocatalysts. As a result, this study opens up a new gateway to fabricate novel environment-friendly nanocatalysts with high performance.