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Dye degradation study by incorporating Cu-doped ZnO photocatalyst into polyacrylamide microgel

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Abstract

In this study, Cu-doped ZnO NPs (xCZO) were formed by the coprecipitation route by changing the concentration of dopant Cu from 0 to 24% (w/w). Cu-doped ZnO nanocomposite with polyacrylamide microgel (PAM) was formed by incorporating xCZO NPs into the PAM microgel. The xCZO NP and xCZO/PAM nanocomposites were used for methyl blue (MB) dye degradation and disinfection under solar light. Among the xCZO NPs, 18% Cu-doped ZnO (18CZO) showed excellent MB degradation under solar light. So, 18CZO NPs were used for the formation of nanocomposite with PAM microgel which further enhanced the dye degradation rate due to high surface area and PAM microgel adsorption ability. 18CZO/PAM nanocomposite showed good cyclic stability, checked up to 5 cycles.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

Taif University Researchers Supporting Project number (TURSP-2020/00), Taif University, Taif, Saudi Arabia. The authors acknowledge the support provided by the Guangdong Education Department's Key Projects (2021ZDJS081), the National Key R&D Program of China (Grant No. 2019YFE0112500), National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51978185), and Program for Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in University (Grant No. IRT13057).

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Contributions

CK involved in analysis and/or interpretation of data, performed some photocatalysis experiments, and reviewed revised manuscript and critical revision. PT conducted FTIR analysis and reviewed revised manuscript and critical revision. AB conducted SEM and XPS analyses and performed acquisition of data, and writing-original draft preparation. SI participated in conception, design of the study and performed major experimental works, writing-original draft preparation, and supervision. MJ drafted the original manuscript and contributed to supervision and acquisition of data. MAQ conducted XRD analysis and performed some photocatalytic experiments, acquisition of data, and writing-original draft preparation. MF performed photocatalysis experiments and acquisition of the data. GL interpreted the revised data and helped a lot in revising the manuscript and supervision. OMA took part in analysis and/or interpretation of the data and performed FTIR analysis. EA conducted some photocatalysis experiments, reviewed revised manuscript, and performed critical revision. AEF drafted the original manuscript and involved in acquisition of data, reviewing revised manuscript, and critical revision.

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Correspondence to Ali Bahadur, Shahid Iqbal or Guocong Liu.

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Kuang, C., Tan, P., Bahadur, A. et al. Dye degradation study by incorporating Cu-doped ZnO photocatalyst into polyacrylamide microgel. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 33, 9930–9940 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-022-07984-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-022-07984-6

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