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Hydrothermal Synthesis of Cu-ZnO-/TiO2-Based Engineered Nanomaterials for the Efficient Removal of Organic Pollutants and Bacteria from Water

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Abstract

Water pollution is responsible for the majority of deaths over the globe. Numerous photocatalysts were developed for the removal of pollutants from aquatic systems. The present work is a step ahead in the development of the water purification system. For the advancement in the removal efficiency of the photocatalyst, Cu-ZnO/TiO2 nanocomposites have been synthesized with the hydrothermal method. The photocatalytic performance of the developed system was tested on two organic dyes, i.e., methyl orange and rhodamine B. The Cu-ZnO/TiO2 nanocomposite exhibited more than tenfold increase in the degradation efficiency for organic dyes, when compared with pristine ZnO and TiO2. Likewise, the nanocomposite degraded 99% of bacterial colonies and exhibited enhanced antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus in visible light. We have also optimized the Cu-doping level for the maximum photocatalytic activity of Cu-ZnO/TiO2 nanocomposites.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electronic Science, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, 136119, India

    Pardeep Kumar, Virender Singh Kundu, Suresh Kumar & Nikhil Chauhan

  2. Department of Microbiology, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, 136119, India

    Baljeet Saharan

  3. Department of Applied Sciences, U.I.E.T, Panjab University, Chandigarh, 160014, India

    Vanish Kumar

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  1. Pardeep Kumar
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  2. Virender Singh Kundu
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  3. Suresh Kumar
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  6. Nikhil Chauhan
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Correspondence to Pardeep Kumar.

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Kumar, P., Kundu, V.S., Kumar, S. et al. Hydrothermal Synthesis of Cu-ZnO-/TiO2-Based Engineered Nanomaterials for the Efficient Removal of Organic Pollutants and Bacteria from Water. BioNanoSci. 7, 574–582 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12668-017-0452-9

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