Limbah zat warna merupakan salah satu kontributor terbesar dalam terjadinya polusi air. Degradasi limbah zat warna menggunakan suatu fotokatalis perlu dilakukan untuk menangani permasalahan limbah tersebut. CuBi2O4 dan CuO merupakan suatu semikonduktor tipe-p berbasis oksida logam yang memiliki celah pita sempit, menunjukkan respons yang sangat baik terhadap cahaya tampak, dan dapat digunakan sebagai fotokatalis. Akan tetapi, kedua material tersebut menunjukkan aktivitas fotokatalitik yang buruk akibat laju rekombinasi pasangan elektron dan hole yang cepat, sehingga sintesis material heterojunction dilakukan untuk mengatasi kekurangan ini. Komposit CuBi2O4/CuO disintesis dengan berbagai variasi rasio massa CuBi2O4:CuO (1:1, 1:2, dan 2:1) menggunakan metode grinding annealing. Lebih lanjut, CuBi2O4/CuO CuBi2O4, dan CuO yang dihasilkan kemudian dikarakterisasi menggunakan instrumen XRD, FTIR, UV-Vis DRS, dan TEM. CuBi2O4 dan CuO menunjukkan celah pita sebesar 1,76 eV dan 1,55 eV. Perubahan nilai energi celah pita teramati ketika modifikasi dilakukan, yakni 1,73 eV, 1,70 eV, dan 1,59 eV. Pengujian aktivitas fotokatalitik terhadap metilen biru di bawah cahaya tampak selama 180 menit menunjukkan bahwa sintesis CuBi2O4/CuO efisien dalam meningkatkan aktivitas fotokatalitiknya dengan persentase degradasi sebesar 81,1%. Sedangkan CuO dan CuBi2O4 masing-masing menunjukkan persentase degradasi sebesar 73,3% dan 64,2%.
Dye waste is one of the biggest contributors to water pollution. Degradation of dye waste using a photocatalyst needs to be done to deal with this waste problem. CuBi2O4 and CuO are metal oxide-based p-type semiconductors that have a narrow band gap, responsive to visible light, and can be used as photocatalysts material. Synthesis of CuBi2O4 and CuO using solvothermal and hydrothermal methods was successfully carried out which was confirmed by XRD, FTIR, TEM, and UV-Vis DRS. CuBi2O4 and CuO show bandgap energy 1.76 eV and 1.55 eV, respectively. However, both materials exhibit poor photocatalytic performance due to the fast recombination rate of electron-hole pairs, so that the synthesis of heterojunction materials was carried out to overcome this deficiency. CuBi2O4/CuO composite was synthesis by grinding annealing method using various CuBi2O4:CuO mass ratios (1:1, 1:2, and 2:1). Furthermore, CuBi2O4/CuO composite were characterized using XRD, FTIR, UV-Vis DRS, and TEM. Changes in the value of the band gap energy observed when modifications were made to 1.73 eV, 1.70 eV and 1.59 eV. The heterojunction CuBi2O4/CuO showed an enhanced photocatalytic performance with 81,1% removal of methylene blue within 180 min of visible light irradiation, compared to the results obtained with the pristine materials. While CuO and CuBi2O4 only showed 73,3% and 64,2% removal of methylene blue within 180 min of visible light irradiation.