Rapid Photocatalytic Activity of Crystalline CeO 2 -CuO-Cu(OH) 2 Ternary Nanocomposite

Govindhasamy Murugadoss (), Thiruppathi Kannappan, Jothi Ramalingam Rajabathar, Rajesh Kumar Manavalan, Shyju Thankaraj Salammal and Nachimuthu Venkatesh
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Govindhasamy Murugadoss: Centre for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai 600119, Tamil Nadu, India
Thiruppathi Kannappan: Department of Physics, SRM Valliammai Engineering College, SRM Nagar, Kattankulathur 603203, Tamil Nadu, India
Jothi Ramalingam Rajabathar: Chemistry Department, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Rajesh Kumar Manavalan: Institute of Natural Science and Mathematics, Ural Federal University, 620002 Yekaterinburg, Russia
Shyju Thankaraj Salammal: Centre for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai 600119, Tamil Nadu, India
Nachimuthu Venkatesh: Department of Nanoscience and Technology, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore 641046, Tamil Nadu, India

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 21, 1-15

Abstract: The development of a heterojunction nanocomposite leads to improved optoelectronic properties. Herein, ceria (CeO 2 ), copper oxide (CuO), and ceria–copper–copper hydroxide (CeO 2 -CuO-Cu(OH) 2 ) nanocomposites were prepared via a facile chemical method and their structural, morphological, and optical properties were studied using various characteristic techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), ultra-violet visible light absorption (UV-visible), photoluminescence, and thermogravimetry differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA). In the integration of CeO 2 and CuO with Cu(OH) 2 , the band gap is modified to 2.64 eV; this reduced band gap can improve the photocatalytic efficiency of the nanocomposite. The CeO 2 can increase light absorption in the nanocomposite, while CuO acts as an electron trap in the composite and this leads to a good enhancement of the optical properties of the CeO 2 -CuO-Cu(OH) 2 nanocomposite. In addition, the heterojunction combination at the interfaces of the CeO 2 -CuO-Cu(OH) 2 nanocomposite facilitates the photo-generated charge separation in the composite, which increases the charge participation in the catalyzed conversion reactions of the prepared composite. The highest photocatalytic degradation efficiencies of 96.4% and 92.7% were achieved for fast green (FG) and bromophenol blue (BP), respectively, using the CeO 2 -CuO-Cu(OH) 2 nanocomposite.

Keywords: nanocomposite; heterostructure; photoconversion; degradation; scavenger (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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