Nithieahvathiy Sarengan, Subhan Salaeh, Suresh Sagadevan, Saifullahi Shehu Imam, Cahyorini Kusumawardani, Noor Haida Mohd Kaus
Metal oxides have demonstrated significant potential in water purification applications with the recent advancements in photocatalytic technologies. In this study, a ZnO/CuO nanocomposite was synthesized via a facile chemical co-precipitation method by successfully integrating zinc oxide and copper oxide semiconductors. The structural, compositional, and optical properties of pristine ZnO and the ZnO/CuO composite were comprehensively characterized. Under Xe light irradiation, the ZnO/CuO nanocomposite has exhibited superior photocatalytic performance, achieving substantial degradation of norfloxacin (NOR) and methyl orange (MO) within 120 min under optimized conditions. The degradation rates for 10 ppm concentrations of NOR and MO were calculated as k = 1.085 × 10-2 min-1 (99% degradation) and k = 3.849 × 10-2 min-1 (70% degradation), respectively. Kinetic analyses revealed that the degradation has followed pseudo-first-order kinetics, and observed to be consistent with the Langmuir–Hinshelwood model. Scavenger experiments have identified h+, O2•−, and •OH radicals as key species driving the photocatalytic degradation of MO, while O2•− primarily governed NOR degradation. In addition, the ZnO/CuO composite has maintained high photocatalytic efficiency after ten reuse cycles. These findings suggest that the ZnO/CuO nanocomposite is a promising candidate for the photocatalytic treatment of water contaminated with NOR and MO pollutants. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2024.
NanoHybridMaterials Group, School of Chemical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, 11800, Malaysia; Faculty of Science and Technology, Prince of Songkla University, Pattani, 94000, Thailand; Nanotechnology & amp; Catalysis Research Centre, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia; Department of Pure and Industrial Chemistry, Bayero University, P.M.B 3011, Kano, Nigeria; Chemistry Department, Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta, Sleman, Yogyakarta, 55281, Indonesia
