Fabrication of black TiO2–coated Cu nanoparticles with oxygen resistance of metallic Cu.
The metallic Cu nanoparticles promote the formation of oxygen vacancies in TiO2 through the metal-oxide interaction.
The metallic Cu nanoparticles facilitate the separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs of TiO2.
black TiO2–coated Cu photocatalysts exhibit higher activity for the reduction of CO2 than that of TiO2.