Photocatalytic Degradation of Methyl Orange and Methylene Blue with CuO-Fe۲O۳ Nanocomposite in Aqueous Solution

New heterojunction transition metal oxides due to their unique properties have gained much attention in the photodegradation of organic dyes. Therefore, in this work, a new heterojunction CuO-Fe۲O۳ was prepared using a simple solution process technique, and characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis), photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The methyl orange (MO) and methylene blue (MB) photodegradation properties of CuO-Fe۲O۳ nanocomposite were studied with various parameters such as initial pH solution, amount of catalyst dose, and different contact times under visible light irradiation. Results confirmed that the MO and MB were completely (۹۹.۶% and ۹۸.۴%, respectively) using CuO-Fe۲O۳ after about ۱۲۰ min. The photodegradation process was also studied using pseudo-first-order (PFO) and pseudo-second-order (PSO) kinetic models. The results obeyed from PSO model. Finally, CuO-Fe۲O۳ is a promising photocatalyst to be developed in the removal of other organic dyes from aqueous solutions and also industrial wastewater.

کلیدواژه ها:

Heterojunction ، CuO-Fe۲O۳ nanocomposite ، Photodegradation ، photocatalyst