A Novel Cu2O/ZnO@PET Composite Membrane for the Photocatalytic Degradation of Carbendazim

Abstract

The extremely high levels of water pollution caused by various industrial activities represent one of the most important environmental problems. Efficient techniques and advanced materials have been extensively developed for the removal of highly toxic organic pollutants, including pesticides. This study investigated the photocatalytic degradation of the fungicide carbendazim (Czm) using composite track-etched membranes (TeMs) in an aqueous solution. Copper(I) oxide (Cu2O) and zinc oxide (ZnO) microtubes (MTs) were prepared using an electroless template deposition technique in porous poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) TeMs with nanochannels with a density of 4 × 107 pores/cm−2 and diameter of 385 ± 9 nm to yield Cu2O@PET and ZnO@PET composite membranes, respectively. A mixed Cu2O/ZnO@PET composite was prepared via a two-step deposition process, containing ZnO (87%) and CuZ (13%) as crystalline phases. The structure and composition of all composite membranes were elucidated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. Under UV–visible light irradiation, the Cu2O/ZnO@PET composite displayed enhanced photocatalytic activity, reaching 98% Czm degradation, higher than Cu2O@PET and ZnO@PET composites. The maximum Czm degradation efficiency from aqueous solution was obtained at an optimal pH of 6 and contact time of 140 min. The effects of various parameters such as temperature, catalyst dosage and sample exposure time on the photocatalytic degradation process were studied. The degradation reaction of Czm was found to follow the Langmuir–Hinshelwood mechanism and a pseudo-first order kinetic model. The degradation kinetics of Czm accelerated with increasing temperature, and the activation energy (Ea) levels were calculated as 11.9 kJ/mol, 14.22 kJ/mol and 15.82 kJ/mol for Cu2O/ZnO@PET, ZnO@PET and Cu2O@PET composite membranes, respectively. The reusability of the Cu2O/ZnO@PET catalyst was also investigated at different temperatures for 10 consecutive runs, without any activation or regeneration processes. The Cu2O/ZnO@PET composite exhibited degradation efficiency levels of over 50% at 14 °C and over 30% at 52 °C after 5 consecutive uses.

Facile Method to Fabricate Cactus-like Ag NPs/CuO/Cu2O Nanocomposites for Recyclable SERS Detection of Trace Carbendazim Residues

“…Although the noble metal nanostructures have high sensitivity and enhancement factor, their main disadvantage is single use due to the difficulty of eliminating the adsorbed analyte molecules, limiting the practical application of SERS for the carbendazim residue detection with low cost. Metal oxides, such as TiO 2 , ZnO, and Cu 2 O, are able to decompose analytes adsorbed on SERS substrates due to their photocatalytic capability under visible light irradiation, and have been used to degrade carbendazim. − Benefitting from the EM field enhancement of the noble metals and high photocatalytic activity of semiconductor materials, the combination of the noble metal NPs and the semiconductor nanomaterials endows SERS substrates with both high sensitivity and self-cleaning capability. , …”

Application of the Cu@PET Composite Track-Etched Membranes for Catalytic Removal of Cr(VI) Ions

“…Cu@PET composite TeMs are both effective catalysts for various types of chemical reactions [24][25][26][27] and promising sorbents for the removal of heavy metal ions from aqueous media [28,29]. Moreover, a formaldehyde-based deposition solution is most often used to deposit copper into TEM channels.…”

Hybrid PET Track-Etched Membranes Grafted by Well-Defined Poly(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) Brushes and Loaded with Silver Nanoparticles for the Removal of As(III)

“…The pore size of the pristine and grafted TeMs and the structural parameters of the composites obtained were determined by porometry using the Hagen–Poiseuille equation [ 7 ]. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns were obtained on a D8 Advance diffractometer (Bruker, Karlsruhe, Germany) to study the crystalline structure of the samples.…”

“…TeMs have a unique pore structure that offers the smallest tolerances regarding pore diameter and density compared with alternative porous membranes in the literature. The two-step process applied in their preparation (bombardment with accelerated heavy ions and subsequent chemical etching) allows them to precisely target specific requirements regarding the size and density of the nanochannels, which affect surface area, a key focus of absorption studies [ 5 , 6 , 7 ].…”