Innovative Nanocomposites for Enhanced Photocatalytic Removal of Hazardous Pollutants: Probing the Role of CuO/Fe₂O₃ and MXene Synergy

Abstract

In this work, copper oxide nanorods and iron oxide nanospheres were prepared via a coprecipitation method. Moreover, binary composite of copper and iron oxides (CF) and their ternary nanocomposite with MXene sheets (CF/MXene) were synthesized using an ultrasonication approach. The photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B (RhB), a colorless organic pollutant benzoic acid, and harmful herbicide pendimethalin was investigated under visible light irradiation in the presence of a CF/MXene composite. The photocatalysts were examined using various physiochemical techniques. Ternary CF/MXene nanocomposite showed rapid adsorption of Rh.B with a greater capability than the other prepared photocatalysts. The dye removal after 120 min in the presence of CF/MXene was 94%, with the highest rate constant of 0.01794 min −1 . The scavenging experiments proved that the photoactive species involved during the complete photocatalytic process followed the order HO • > O 2•− > h + > e − . In short, the synergistic effect of binary composite (CF) and MXene sheets effectively facilitates the photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants and shows promise for environmental remediation applications.