Laser-induced convenient synthesis of porous Cu2O@CuO nanocomposites with excellent adsorption of methyl blue solution

We design a simple and versatile strategy to synthesize pure Cu2O@CuO nanoporous materials with pores the size of 4~8 nm based on the laser irradiation of CuO powders in distilled water. In the presence of 1.8 mg Cu2O@CuO nanocomposites, the adsorption of a nearly 99.69% MB solution (80 mg/L, 3 mL) can be achieved after 1 min, while 95.35% via 200 mg original CuO powders. The porous structures and the abundant hydroxyl (-OH) groups formed on the surfaces enable the Cu2O@CuO nanocomposites to have many more adsorption sites. Our results have opened up a novel green paradigm of wielding laser light as a versatile tool for sculpting porous nanocomposites without any residual reagents.