A multifunctional noble-metal-free catalyst of CuO/TiO2 hybrid nanofibers

Exploiting photocatalysts/catalysts with characteristics of low cost, high reactivity and easy recovery is of great significance for energy efficiency and environmental remediation. Herein, CuO/TiO 2 hybrid nanofibers with different CuO contents were fabricated by a simple and low-cost method of electrospinning followed with calcinations in air. The hybrid nanofibers possess some distinct merits including mesoporous structure, extended light response range, and large TiO 2 /CuO interface. The CuO/TiO 2 hybrid nanofibers showed improved photocatalytic activity for organic dye degradation under both simulated sunlight (UV–vis) and visible light (λ   >   420   nm), compared with pure TiO 2 nanofibers. Both processes exhibited humplike activity dependence upon CuO addition, with a peak at 1   wt.%-CuO content under UV–vis light and a peak at 5   wt.%-CuO content under visible light, respectively. The mechanism for the CuO-content dependent photocatalysis was discussed with the photoelectrochemical analysis in evidence. Moreover, the CuO/TiO 2 hybrid nanofibers exhibited very high catalytic efficiency for the reduction of nitrophenols by sodium borohydride, and the apparent reaction rate constants ascended with the increased CuO content. The optimized CuO/TiO 2 nanofibers are expected to act a highly efficient catalyst to replace the noble metals in this field. Therefore, this work demonstrated a convenient case for the exploitation of noble-metal-free catalysts with high efficiency, to meet the increasing demands of industrial applications at reduced costs.