Simultaneously Inhibiting Thermodynamic and Kinetic Photocorrosion of p-Type Cu2O for Enhanced Photocatalytic Degradation Efficiency

Researchers at Yanshan University in Qinhuangdao, People's Republic of China, have made significant progress in addressing a major bottleneck in the application of p-type semiconductor photocatalysts, specifically p-CuO, for the conversion of solar energy into chemical energy. The team, led by You Yang, State Key Laboratory of Metastable Materials Science and Technology, discovered a novel approach to simultaneously inhibit thermodynamic and kinetic photocorrosion of p-CuO, leading to a 91% photocatalytic degradation efficiency at 6 cycles of photodegradation of tetracycline (TC). This breakthrough has the potential to significantly improve the photostability of p-CuO and pave the way for the development of more efficient and stable photocatalytic systems.

Key Takeaways:

• Researchers at Yanshan University have successfully inhibited thermodynamic and kinetic photocorrosion of p-CuO using an amorphous hole-transfer conformal interface, achieving 91% photocatalytic degradation efficiency at 6 cycles of photodegradation of tetracycline (TC).
• The novel method of creating an amorphous hole-transfer conformal interface on the surface of p-CuO prevented thermodynamic self-oxidation and kinetically inhibited photocorrosion of p-CuO.
• This breakthrough has significant implications for the design and development of photostable catalytic systems, providing a fundamental solution to the photocorrosion problem of photocatalysts.
• The research has been peer-reviewed and published in the Journal of Colloid and Interface Science (Volume 703, 2025, 139175).
• Additional authors contributing to the research include Ke Yin, Ming Xu, Lei Li, Yuhang Li, Jiaqi Dai, Weiwei Cao, Tianhui Wu, Jianmin Gu, and Desong Wang.
• The research has been published in the Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, which can be contacted at Academic Press Inc Elsevier Science, 525 B St, Ste 1900, San Diego, CA 92101-4495, USA.

Statistics:

• 91% photocatalytic degradation efficiency achieved at 6 cycles of photodegradation of tetracycline (TC).
• The approach results in a significant improvement in the photostability of p-CuO.
• 6 cycles of photodegradation of tetracycline (TC) tested.
• 91% photocatalytic degradation efficiency observed after inhibition of thermodynamic and kinetic photocorrosion of p-CuO.

Sources:

• NewsRx. Investigators at Yanshan University Release New Data on Photocatalytics (Simultaneously inhibiting thermodynamic and kinetic photocorrosion of p-type Cu2O via amorphous hole transfer conformal interfaces). Nanotechnology Weekly. October 20, 2025; p 612.
• Simultaneously inhibiting thermodynamic and kinetic photocorrosion of p-type Cu2O via amorphous hole transfer conformal interfaces. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 2025;703:139175.