Fabrication of MCC/Cu2O/GO composite foam with high photocatalytic degradation ability toward methylene blue

In this work, cuprous oxide (Cu 2 O) particles and graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets were simultaneously incorporated into the microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) foam to fabricate the MCC/Cu 2 O/GO composite foam toward methylene blue (MB) photocatalytic degradation. The interaction between Cu 2 O and GO and the morphologies of the composite foams were investigated. The results showed that there was a hydrogen bonding interaction between Cu 2 O and GO, which promoted the exfoliation of GO nanosheets and the dispersion of Cu 2 O in the composite foam. The MCC/Cu 2 O/GO composite foams not only exhibited high photocatalytic degradation ratio toward MB compared with the pure Cu 2 O particles and the common MCC/Cu 2 O composite foams, but also exhibited much higher derogation rate compared with the Cu 2 O-based photocatalytic degradation materials as reported in literature. A concept of ‘micro-reactor’ was proposed to explain the mechanisms for the largely enhanced degradation rate. Furthermore, the cycling measurements for the photocatalytic degradation of MB was also evaluated.