Facile preparation and photocatalytic performance of bimetallic photocatalyst FcC₂Cu

Visible light-driven bimetallic photocatalyst FcC₂Cu was prepared by one-step aqueous phase method. The FcC₂Cu sample was characterized using X-ray powder diffraction, UV–Visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and Mott–Schottky analysis. The photocatalytic activity of the as-prepared FcC₂Cu sample was tested through the photocatalytic degradation of glyphosate. The catalyst exhibited good photocatalytic activity toward glyphosate degradation under natural solar light irradiation. The enhancement of photocatalytic activity is ascribed to its strong visible light absorption and the synergistic effect of π-conjugated system and Fe²⁺ in FcC₂Cu.