title: Enhanced photocatalytic activity of ZnO/CuO nanocomposite for the degradation of textile dye on visible light illumination.
abstract: The photocatalytic degradation of organic dyes such as methylene blue and methyl orange in the presence of various percentages of composite catalyst under visible light irradiation was carried out. The catalyst ZnO nanorods and ZnO/CuO nanocomposites of different weight ratios were prepared by new thermal decomposition method, which is simple and cost effective. The prepared catalysts were characterized by different techniques such as X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and UV-visible absorption spectroscopy. Further, the most photocatalytically active composite material was used for degradation of real textile waste water under visible light illumination. The irradiated samples were analysed by total organic carbon and chemical oxygen demand. The efficiency of the catalyst and their photocatalytic mechanism has been discussed in detail.
authors.affiliation: Materials science centre, Department of Nuclear Physics, University of Madras, Guindy Campus, Chennai 600 025, India.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Saravanan
authors.affiliation: Environmental technology division, Central Leather Research Institute, Adyar, Chennai 600 020, India.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Karthikeyan
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee 247 667, India; King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: V K
authors.initials: VK
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.affiliation: Environmental technology division, Central Leather Research Institute, Adyar, Chennai 600 020, India.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sekaran
authors.affiliation: Department of Inorganic Chemistry, University of Madras, Guindy Campus, Chennai 600 025, India.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Narayanan
authors.affiliation: Materials science centre, Department of Nuclear Physics, University of Madras, Guindy Campus, Chennai 600 025, India. Electronic address: stephen_arum@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stephen
mesh_terms: D001391:Azo Compounds / Q000737:chemistry; D057919:Biological Oxygen Demand Analysis; D002244:Carbon / Q000032:analysis; D002384:Catalysis / Q000528:radiation effects; D004396:Coloring Agents / Q000737:chemistry*; D003300:Copper / Q000737:chemistry*; D008027:Light; D008751:Methylene Blue / Q000737:chemistry; D053761:Nanocomposites / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D013056:Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D013499:Surface Properties; D013784:Textiles; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction; D015034:Zinc Oxide / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D001391:Azo Compounds; D004396:Coloring Agents; C100258:methyl orange; D002244:Carbon; D003300:Copper; D015034:Zinc Oxide; D008751:Methylene Blue; C030973:cupric oxide