Tuned Photodegradation Efficiency of Bimetallic Copper-Iron Oxide Catalysts via Precursor Stoichiometry Control for Water Decontamination

Abstract:

Inadequate handling and disposal of contaminated industrial waste significantly contribute to environmental pollution. The presence of pollutants, including dyes, in wastewater necessitates the development of innovative remediation techniques. Metal oxide-catalyzed photodegradation capitalizes on the capacity of a dye to absorb light energy, offering a rapid method to break down the dye into less harmful, colorless byproducts. In this work, bimetallic copper-iron oxides with various copper to iron were synthesized for the photodegradation of fuchsine. The photocatalysts were prepared through oxalate precipitation followed by thermal decomposition. Structural analysis revealed a MOF-like structure of the bimetallic oxalate precursors. Thermal decomposition of the oxalates yielded photocatalytic bimetallic copper-iron oxides. Photodegradation studies demonstrated that the addition of copper-iron oxides accelerated the degradation of fuchsine and a higher concentration of CuO enhances the performance of the photocatalyst. Notably, the copper-iron oxide with a 1:1 (CuFe) ratio proved to be the most effective catalyst for the photodegradation of fuchsine. Furthermore, the photodegradation of fuchsine conforms to a pseudo-first order model and exhibits characteristics of a first-order reaction. Our findings emphasize that simple and high-efficiency bimetallic oxide catalysts can be used for water decontamination applications.

• Periodical: Advances in Science and Technology (Volume 151)
• Pages: 25-31
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/p-UMWD6s
• Online since: June 2024
• Authors: Senfred Matthew O. Merca, Julius Caezar II M. Damo, Hannah Kristel D. Vargas, Ramel John Anthony V. Biñas, Catherine Angeli R. San Jose, Sean Benson A. See, Yasmin D.G. Edañol*, Ken Aldren S. Usman, Marlon T. Conato
• Keywords: Kinetics, Oxalate Precipitation, Photocatalysis, Remediation, Wastewater

References

[1] Panghulan, G. R., Vasquez Jr., M. R., Edañol, Y. D., Chanlek, N. & Payawan Jr., L. M. Synthesis of TiN/N-doped TiO2 composite films as visible light active photocatalyst. J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 38, 62203 (2020).

DOI: 10.1116/6.0000304

[2] Buenviaje Jr., S. C., Usman, K. A. S. & Payawan Jr., L. M. Synthesis and characterization of titanium dioxide-polypyrrole nanocomposites for the photodegradation of bromophenol blue. AIP Conf. Proc. 1958, 20015 (2018).

DOI: 10.1063/1.5034546

[3] Buenviaje, S. C. J., Usman, K. A. S., Edañol, Y. D. G., Maylem, G. P. & Payawan, L. M. J. One-Pot Photochemical Synthesis of Solution-Stable TiO2-Polypyrrole Nanocomposite for the Photodegradation of Methyl Orange. Key Eng. Mater. 853, 217–222 (2020).

DOI: 10.4028/www.scientific.net/kem.853.217

[4] Buenviaje Jr, S. C., Edañol, Y. D. G., Legaspi, E. D. R., Payawan Jr, L. M. & Usman, K. A. S. One-pot Synthesis of Redispersible Polymer-stabilized ZnO Nanocomposites. Philipp. J. Sci. 150, (2021).

DOI: 10.56899/150.6a.07

[5] Védrine, J. C. Importance, features and uses of metal oxide catalysts in heterogeneous catalysis. Chinese J. Catal. 40, 1627–1636 (2019).

DOI: 10.1016/s1872-2067(18)63162-6

[6] Domacena, A. M. G., Aquino, C. L. E. & Balela, M. D. L. Photo-Fenton Degradation of Methyl Orange Using Hematite (α-Fe2O3) of Various Morphologies. Mater. Today Proc. 22, 248–254 (2020).

DOI: 10.1016/j.matpr.2019.08.095

[7] Khan, A., Valicsek, Z. & Horváth, O. Comparing the Degradation Potential of Copper(II), Iron(II), Iron(III) Oxides, and Their Composite Nanoparticles in a Heterogeneous Photo-Fenton System. Nanomaterials vol. 11 (2021).

DOI: 10.3390/nano11010225

[8] Edañol, Y. D. G., Barbosa, R. L., Buenviaje, S. C. & Payawan, L. M. Oxalate precipitation synthesis of copper-manganese nanoparticles for methanol steam reforming. in IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering vol. 625 (2019).

DOI: 10.1088/1757-899x/625/1/012016

[9] Xiang, Y., Barbosa, R., Li, X. & Kruse, N. Ternary Cobalt–Copper–Niobium Catalysts for the Selective CO Hydrogenation to Higher Alcohols. ACS Catal. 5, 2929–2934 (2015).

DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.5b00388

[10] Guo, W., Cao, Y., Zhang, Y., Wang, L. & Kong, L. Synthesis of porous iron hydroxy phosphate from phosphate residue and its application as a Fenton-like catalyst for dye degradation. J. Environ. Sci. 112, 307–319 (2022).

DOI: 10.1016/j.jes.2021.05.033

[11] Ilik, E. et al. A closer-look on Copper(II) oxide reinforced Calcium-Borate glasses: Fabrication and multiple experimental assessment on optical, structural, physical, and experimental neutron/gamma shielding properties. Ceram. Int. 48, 6780–6791 (2022).

DOI: 10.1016/j.ceramint.2021.11.229

[12] Panthawan, A. et al. Photocatalytic efficiency under visible light of a novel Cu–Fe oxide composite films prepared by one-step sparking process. Sci. Rep. 12, 4239 (2022).

DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-08244-7

[13] Wang, Q., Ma, Y. & Xing, S. Comparative study of Cu-based bimetallic oxides for Fenton-like degradation of organic pollutants. Chemosphere 203, 450–456 (2018).

DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2018.04.013

[14] Manickam-Periyaraman, P. et al. Bimetallic iron-copper oxide nanoparticles supported on nanometric diamond as efficient and stable sunlight-assisted Fenton photocatalyst. Chem. Eng. J. 393, 124770 (2020).

DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2020.124770

[15] Taufik, A. & Saleh, R. Synergistic effect between ternary iron–zinc–copper mixed oxides and graphene for photocatalytic water decontamination. Ceram. Int. 43, 3510–3520 (2017).

DOI: 10.1016/j.ceramint.2016.10.176

[16] Alikarami, S., Soltanizade, A. & Rashchi, F. Synthesis of CdS–SnS photocatalyst by chemical co-precipitation for photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue and rhodamine B under irradiation by visible light. J. Phys. Chem. Solids 171, 110993 (2022).

DOI: 10.1016/j.jpcs.2022.110993

[17] Rytwo, G. & Zelkind, A. L. Evaluation of Kinetic Pseudo-Order in the Photocatalytic Degradation of Ofloxacin. Catalysts vol. 12 (2022).

DOI: 10.3390/catal12010024