In situ reduction for synthesis of nano-sized Cu2O particles on MgCuAl-LDH layers for degradation of orange II under visible light

Cu2O-MgAl-LDH composites were synthesized from MgCuAl-layered double hydroxides (LDHs) as precursors using ascorbic acid for reduction of Cu2+. The synthesized precursor materials and composites were characterized by XRD, TEM, XRF, XPS and UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The results showed that the Cu2O nanoparticles were evenly distributed on the LDH nano-sheets, which greatly improved the catalytic property of Cu2O. For example, the Cu2O-Mg7Al5-LDH composite removed about 90% of Orange II while pure Cu2O removed only about 70% of the dye through photocatalytic degradation. The Cu2O-LDH composites showed very high efficiency in degrading Orange II dye because of uniform distribution of Cu2O nanoparticles on the surfaces of LDH with less amount of copper than in pure Cu2O. The Cu2O-LDH composites developed here are potential photocatalysts for dye degradation in water purification.