Facile Synthesis of Highly Efficient p–n Heterojunction CuO/BiFeO3 Composite Photocatalysts with Enhanced Visible‐Light Photocatalytic Activity

Abstract A novel heterostructured CuO/BiFeO 3 composite photocatalyst was successfully prepared through a simple combination of hydrothermal and impregnation process. CuO was uniformly deposited on the surface of BiFeO 3 particles with a p – n heterojunction formed at the interface between CuO and BiFeO 3 . CuO/BiFeO 3 heterostructured photocatalysts improved the UV/Vis spectral absorption ability, and exhibited enhanced photocatalytic activities for photodegradation of methylorange or a colorless compound (i.e., phenol) under visible light. In addition, after five recycles for the photodegradation of methylorange, CuO/BiFeO 3 did not exhibit significant loss of photocatalytic activity, confirming its stability and long‐time reusability. The enhanced photocatalytic activity could be mainly ascribed to the p – n heterojunction structure between CuO and BiFeO 3 , which could significantly facilitate the separation and transfer of photogenerated electron–hole pairs. On the basis of the calculated energy bands, the photocatalytic mechanism was also proposed.