Fabrication of a highly efficient CuO/ZnCo2O4/CNTs ternary composite for photocatalytic degradation of hazardous pollutants
Date
2024-08-08
Authors
Alomayrah, Norah
Ikram, Mustabshira
Zulfiqar, Sonia
Alomairy, Sultan
Al-Buriahi, Mohammed Sultan
Shakir, Imran
Warsi, Muhammad Farooq
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Royal Society of Chemistry
Abstract
In the current study, CuO, ZnCo2O4, CuO/ZnCo2O4, and CuO/ZnCo2O4/CNTs photocatalysts were prepared to remove crystal violet (CV) and colorless pollutants (diclofenac sodium and phenol) from wastewater. Herein, sol–gel and co-precipitation methods were used to synthesize CuO and ZnCo2O4, respectively. The sonication method was used to synthesize CuO/ZnCo2O4 and a CNTs-based composite (CuO/ZnCo2O4/CNTs). From the UV-Vis spectra of CuO, ZnCo2O4, CuO/ZnCo2O4, and CuO/ZnCo2O4/CNTs, the optical band gap value was calculated to be 2.11, 2.18, 1.71 and 1.63 eV respectively. The photocatalytic results revealed that CuO/ZnCo2O4/CNTs exhibited higher degradation of 87.7% against CV dye, 82% against diclofenac sodium, and 72% against phenol as compared to other prepared photocatalysts. The OH˙ radical is identified as the active species in the photocatalytic process over CuO/ZnCo2O4/CNTs. The impact of several parameters, such as pH, concentration, and catalyst dosage, has also been investigated. The better activity of the CNTs-based composite was due to the synergic effect of both CuO/ZnCo2O4 nanocomposite and carbon nanotubes. Therefore, the synthesized CuO/ZnCo2O4/CNTs photocatalyst has the potential to degrade organic wastewater effluents effectively.
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This article is published as Alomayrah, Norah, Mustabshira Ikram, Sonia Zulfiqar, Sultan Alomairy, Mohammed Sultan Al-Buriahi, Imran Shakir, Muhammad Farooq Warsi, and Eric W. Cochran. "Fabrication of a highly efficient CuO/ZnCo 2 O 4/CNTs ternary composite for photocatalytic degradation of hazardous pollutants." RSC advances 14, no. 34 (2024): 24874-24897.
doi: https://doi.org/10.1039/D4RA04395B. © 2024 The Author(s). This Open Access Article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 3.0 Unported Licence.