N-type hedgehog-like CuBi2O4 hierarchical microspheres: room temperature synthesis and their photoelectrochemical properties

N-type hedgehog-like CuBi2O4 hierarchical microspheres assembled by prismatic nanorods have been prepared by a simple co-precipitation process at room temperature. Controlled experiments indicate that the formation and morphological evolution of CuBi2O4 architectures can be tuned by the activity of cations via changing the concentration, surfactants and solvent. Furthermore, the obtained CuBi2O4 architectures show a good photoelectric response to visible light irradiation because of the enhanced light trapping properties derived from the omni-directionally grown nanorods in the hedgehog-like hierarchical microspheres.