Wet chemical epitaxial growth of a cactus-like CuFeO2/ZnO heterojunction for improved photocatalysis

Abstract

Herein, a wet chemical epitaxial growth method was employed to fabricate a cactus-like CuFeO₂/ZnO heterojunction for the photocatalytic reduction of benzaldehyde to benzyl alcohol. The 1D ZnO nanorods in the heterojunction make contact with the 2D CuFeO₂ nanoflakes at the atomic level, therefore providing a fast charge transfer channel along the direction parallel to the CuFeO₂c-axis, leading to efficient charge separation and improved photocatalytic performance.