Reduced graphene oxide wrapped Cu2O supported on C3N4: An efficient visible light responsive semiconductor photocatalyst.

Herein, Cu₂O spheres were prepared and encapsulated with reduced graphene oxide (rGO). The Cu₂O-rGO-C₃N₄ composite covered the whole solar spectrum with significant absorption intensity. rGO wrapped Cu₂O loading caused a red shift in the absorption with respect to considering the absorption of bare C₃N₄. The photo-luminescence study confirms that rGO exploited as an electron transport layer at the interface of Cu₂O and C₃N₄ heterojunction. Utmost, ∼2 fold synergistic effect was achieved with Cu₂O-rGO-C₃N₄ for the photocatalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol in comparison with Cu₂O-rGO and C₃N₄. The Cu₂O-rGO-C₃N₄ photocatalyst was reused for four times without loss in its activity [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]