Mo-Doped CuO Nanomaterial for Photocatalytic Degradation of Water Pollutants under Visible Light

Abstract

Recently, metal oxide-based nano-photocatalysts have gained a great deal of attention in waste water remediation due to their outstanding properties. In this report, a novel Mo-doped CuO nanomaterial was successfully prepared and utilized for the degradation of methylene blue water pollutant. The molybdenum content was varied from 1–5 wt.% to obtain the desired modified CuO based nanomaterials. The crystalline structures of as prepared materials were investigated using the XRD technique, which explored the successful fabrication of monoclinic-structure-based CuO nanomaterials. For morphological studies, SEM and HRTEM were used, which proved the successful preparation of nanoparticles-based material. SAED was used to check the crystallinity of the sample. EDX and XPS analyses were performed to evaluate the elemental composition of Mo-doped CuO nanomaterials. The optical characteristics were explored via UV-vis and PL techniques. These studies showed that the energy bandgap of CuO decreased from 1.55 eV to 1.25 eV due to Mo doping. The photocatalytic efficiency of Mo-doped CuO nanomaterials was evaluated by degrading methylene blue (MB) under visible light-irradiation. Among different Mo-doped CuO based nanomaterials, the 4 wt.% Mo-doped CuO sample showed the highest degradation activity against MB dye. These results verified that the optimized material can be used for photocatalytic applications, especially for the purification of waste water.

Aloe-inspired eco-friendly synthesis of Ag/ZnO heterostructures: boosting photocatalytic potential

“…In this equation, “E g ” signifies the optical bandgap energy, “ h ” is the Plank’s constant, “ ” represents frequency, “ ” symbolizes the absorption coefficient and “A” is a constant that depends on transition probability 57 , 58 . Here, n relies on electrons transition and the value of n = 1/2 belongs to direct electrons transition with a direct optical band gap.…”

“…These elements were obtained from the biomolecules that were bound to the surfaces of Ag nanostructures and Ag/ ZnO heterostructures in Aloe vera gel 45,55 . In this equation, "E g " signifies the optical bandgap energy, "h" is the Plank's constant, " ν " represents frequency, " α " symbolizes the absorption coefficient and "A" is a constant that depends on transition probability 57,58 . Here, n relies on electrons transition and the value of n = 1/2 belongs to direct electrons transition with a direct optical band gap.…”

Experimental and computational study of metal oxide nanoparticles for the photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants: a review

“…The 3D transition metal incorporated into CuO played a great role in tuning the structure, morphology, and optical properties. Maraj et al 197 reported Mo-doped CuO nanoparticles synthesized by the sol–gel process and utilized it for the degradation of methylene blue under visible light irradiation. Islam et al 198 synthesized Ce-doped CuO nanoparticles through the sol–gel autocombustion method and utilized it for the degradation of methylene blue under the illumination of visible light.…”

Polyol Synthesis of Ag-Doped Copper Oxide Nanoparticles as a Methylene Blue-Degrading Agent

“…For instance, El Sayed, A. M., and Shaban, M. Shaban looked into the effect of Fe-CuO (s) and discovered more excellent activity due to Fe doping [24]. Mo-CuO (s) nanostructures were created by Maraj M. et al, who then assessed their photocatalytic activity against dyes [25].…”