Continuous Tuning of Au–Cu<sub>2</sub>O Janus Nanostructures for Efficient Charge Separation
Wenjia Xu, Jia Jia, Ti Wang, Chao Li, Bowen He, Jianpeng Zong, Yawen Wang, Hong Jin Fan, Hongxing Xu, Yuhua Feng, Hongyu Chen
Abstract
Abstract In photocatalysis, the Schottky barrier in metal–semiconductor hybrids is known to promote charge separation, but a core–shell structure always leads to a charge build‐up and eventually shuts off the photocurrent. Here, we show that Au–Cu 2 O hybrid nanostructures can be continuously tuned, particularly when the Cu 2 O domains are single‐crystalline. This is in contrast to the conventional systems, where the hybrid configuration is mainly determined by the choice of materials. The distal separation of the Au–Cu 2 O domains in Janus nanostructures leads to enhanced charge separation and a large improvement of the photocurrent. The activity of the Au–Cu 2 O Janus structures is 5 times higher than that of the core–shell structure, and 10 times higher than that of the neat Cu 2 O nanocubes. The continuous structural tuning allows to study the structure–property relationship and an optimization of the photocatalytic performance.