Study of Photocatalytic Activities with Copper Hydroxyphosphate

Copper hydroxyphosphate,as self-assembled nanoparticles, was synthesized by using a hydrothermal method,with cupric acetate (Cu(CH3COO)2·H2O) and diammonium hydrogen phosphate ((NH4)2HPO4) as raw materials. Physical property of copper hydrophosphate was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Ultraviolet obvious diffuse reflection(UV-vis DRS). No surfactants or templates were added in the procedure of preparation. By simply adjusting the pH from 3 to 9, the morphology of copper hydrophosphate varied from microrods to walnutshaped microspheres. Photocatalytic activity of the samples was also investigated. Photo decoloration of Rhodamine B in water under visible light irradiation shows that copper hydrophosphate (pH=7) have the best photocatalytic activity: Photodecoloration activity of 100 mL Rhodamine B (10 mg/L) was 98 % under illumination for 30 min.