In situ synthesis of oxygen-deficient Cu2O on eggshell membranes and study of its efficient photocatalytic activity

The conversion of biological waste into high-value-added materials is of great significance for environmental protection and sustainable economic development. Metal nanoparticles should be used in the field of photocatalysis because of their excellent photocatalytic activity and wide selectivity. Green and sustainable carriers play an important role in improving the utilization and recycling of nanoparticles. In this work, we synthesized eggshell membrane (ESM)/ cuprous oxide biomass catalysts from biological eggshell membranes using a biotemplate method, and the biomass catalysts showed an interwoven network structure of uniformly loaded nanoparticles. The results showed that these biomass composites had good photocatalytic activity ( kapp  = 0.0392 min −1 ) for methylene blue (MB), and the eggshell membranes acted as a sacrificial agent during the catalytic process, which effectively inhibited the compounding rate of photogenerated electrons. The photodegradation rate reached about 97 % in 1 h when the adsorbent dosage was 0.025 g, and the dye concentration was 30 mg/L. The present work is important for realizing the integration of biomaterials science and nanoscience.