We report a facile and novel method for the fabrication of Cu2O@PNIPAM
core-shell nanoreactors using Cu2O nanocubes as the core. The PNIPAM shell not
only effectively protects the Cu2O nanocubes from oxidation, but also improves
the colloidal stability of the system. The Cu2O@PNIPAM core-shell microgels can
work efficiently as photocatalyst for the decomposition of methyl orange under
visible light. A significant enhancement in the catalytic activity has been
observed for the core-shell microgels compared with the pure Cu2O nanocubes.
Most importantly, the photocatalytic activity of the Cu2O nanocubes can be
further tuned by the thermosensitive PNIPAM shell, as rationalized by our
recent theory.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures (Supporting Information included: 11 pages, 10
figures
