Preparation and activity evaluation of n-p CuO/CeO2ZrO2 heterojunction photocatalyst for degradation of organic azo dye in wastewater under visible light irradiation

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Environmental Science, Yuvaraja's College,University of Mysore, Mysore, Karnataka, India.

2 Department of Agricultural Research and Extension Authority, Ministry of Agriculture, Yemen.

Abstract

In this work, the auto solution combustion method was used to prepare p-CuO/n-CeO2ZrO2 with different concentrations of p-CuO, which was found to be an effective photocatalyst for degrading azo dye under visible light irradiation. To investigate the photocatalytic activity of p-CuO/n-CeO2ZrO2, nonbiodegradable azo dyes such as acid orange 7 (AO7) were chosen as the modal target. The catalyst was characterised using X-ray diffraction (XRD), EDS, SEM, XPS, BET, and UV-vis DRS. Under visible light irradiation, AO7 solution easily mineralized with existing p-CuO/n-CeO2ZrO2. Experiments were carried out to determine the adsorption potential of acid orange 7 on p-CuO/n-CeO2ZrO2 at different pH values. Using some radical scavengers to evaluate intermediates, a potential degradation pathway for photocatalytic degradations has been proposed. Under similar visible light conditions, the photodegradation rate of this azo dye catalysed by p-CuO/n-CeO2ZrO2 is much faster than that of n-type CeO2ZrO2. The photocatalytic activity of the sample with a p-n CuO/ CeO2-ZrO2 molar ratio of 0.021 was 35% higher than that of n-type CeO2ZrO2. The impact of pH on photocatalytic activity of the photocatalyst was also studied. At a pH of 3, acid orange 7 showed the most degradation.

Keywords

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References

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Advances in Environmental Technology
Volume 7, Issue 2
April 2021
Pages 69-78

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History

  • Receive Date: 27 March 2021
  • Revise Date: 13 September 2021
  • Accept Date: 14 September 2021

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