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In this work, we explore the synergy of the photocatalytic reaction endowed with improvement of self-cleaning performance. A ZnO/CdS heterostructure was successfully synthesized by hydrothermal-chemical bath deposition on a zinc substrate. The effect of different experimental parameters for its structure and properties were systematically studied using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and UV–Vis spectrophotometry. In addition, superhydrophobic ZnO/CdS was treated by stearic acid modification with a contact angle as high as 160 ± 1.5° and rolling angle as low as 5 ± 1.2°. In the self-cleaning test and photocatalytic degradation test, the superhydrophobic heterostructure exhibited excellent anti-fouling properties and photocatalytic performance. Moreover, after the photocatalytic degradation test, the contact angle of the modified superhydrophobic surface remained 142 ± 2.4°. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

Noble metal deposition is one of the most effective optimization methods for improving the photochemical properties of metal semiconductor oxides. In this paper, vertically aligned CuO nanowires were synthesized by means of a facile thermal oxidation method on Cu mesh. Subsequently, Ag nanoparticles were deposited on the surface of the CuO nanowires by vacuum coating, forming a CuO/Ag composite nanostructure. The morphology, phase structure, elemental distribution, wetting properties and optical properties of the CuO/Ag composite nanostructures were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, energy dispersion spectrometry, contact angle measurement and UV–Vis spectrophotometry, respectively. We also explored the effect of the amount of Ag nanoparticle deposition on the structure and properties of CuO/Ag composite nanomaterials. The CuO/Ag composite nanostructures exhibited better photocatalytic properties and were found to effectively degrade organic pollutants in sewage, after Ag nanoparticle deposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...