Abstract The invention of an efficient, recyclable, and affordable daylight induced photocatalyst is highly desirable, for example to enhance the sustainability in industrial sectors requiring wastewater treatments. In the present paper, a facile and inexpensive iodine sublimation process was developed to prepare freestanding and flexible Cu/Cu2O/CuI sheets to use as daylight photocatalysts capable to degrade toxic pollutants continuously without creating secondary pollution issues. The structural, chemical, and electronic properties of the Cu/Cu2O/CuI nanostructures were systematically investigated. In particular, intriguing hierarchical structures were observed in form of the 20–30 nm CuI nanoparticles self-assembled into the ∼400–500 nm sized CuI nanoclusters. Indeed, ∼92% of the Rhodamine B – often referred as RhB - dye degradation was readily achieved, and the efficiency was controlled simply by adjusting the number of sheets used. Importantly, in contrast with the conventional nanoparticle photocatalysts, the free-standing and flexible Cu/Cu2O/CuI sheets demonstrated excellent recyclability and versatility of handling. Moreover, potential mechanisms for suppressing the recombination of the photogenerated carriers were discussed. As a result, combining the fundamental data and the practically achieved results, the freestanding and flexible Cu/Cu2O/CuI nanostructures are suitable candidates for an industrial upscaling as daylight activated photocatalysts for the wastewater treatment.

中文翻译：

---

通过廉价的碘升华工艺获得高效、可回收且价格合理的日光诱导 Cu/Cu2O/CuI 光催化剂

摘要 高效、可回收且价格合理的日光诱导光催化剂的发明是非常必要的，例如，用于提高需要废水处理的工业部门的可持续性。在本文中，开发了一种简便且廉价的碘升华工艺来制备独立且灵活的 Cu/Cu2O/CuI 片材，用作日光光催化剂，能够连续降解有毒污染物而不会产生二次污染问题。系统地研究了 Cu/Cu2O/CuI 纳米结构的结构、化学和电子特性。特别是，以 20-30 nm 的 CuI 纳米粒子自组装成 400-500 nm 大小的 CuI 纳米团簇的形式观察到了有趣的分层结构。确实，约 92% 的罗丹明 B（通常称为 RhB）染料降解很容易实现，并且只需通过调整使用的片数来控制效率。重要的是，与传统的纳米粒子光催化剂相比，独立且灵活的 Cu/Cu2O/CuI 片材表现出优异的可回收性和处理多功能性。此外，还讨论了抑制光生载流子复合的潜在机制。因此，结合基本数据和实际取得的结果，独立且灵活的 Cu/Cu2O/CuI 纳米结构是工业升级的合适候选者，作为日光活化光催化剂用于废水处理。与传统的纳米粒子光催化剂相比，独立且灵活的 Cu/Cu2O/CuI 片材表现出优异的可回收性和多功能性。此外，还讨论了抑制光生载流子复合的潜在机制。因此，结合基本数据和实际取得的结果，独立且灵活的 Cu/Cu2O/CuI 纳米结构是工业升级的合适候选者，作为日光活化光催化剂用于废水处理。与传统的纳米粒子光催化剂相比，独立且灵活的 Cu/Cu2O/CuI 片材表现出优异的可回收性和多功能性。此外，还讨论了抑制光生载流子复合的潜在机制。因此，结合基本数据和实际取得的结果，独立且灵活的 Cu/Cu2O/CuI 纳米结构是工业升级的合适候选者，作为日光活化光催化剂用于废水处理。