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Efficient photodegradation of azucryl red by copper-doped TiO2 nanoparticles—experimental and modeling studies

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Abstract

This research aims to investigate the effect of copper doping on the photocatalysis performance of TiO2 nanoparticles for disposal wastewater from organic pollutants. X-ray diffraction analysis manifests the crystallization of a rutile phase for pure and copper-doped TiO2 except for 2% resulting in a rutile-to-anatase phase transformation. The crystallite size is found less affected by Cu doping, i.e., ~30 nm. BET analysis indicates a decrease in the specific surface area as the doping loading increases. Scanning electron microscopy observations reveal spherical particles at the nanometer range for pure TiO2 and then larger agglomerates of ultrafine particles with Cu doping. FTIR analysis notifies the existence of hydroxyl groups, which will promote the photocatalysis process. The photodegradation of azucryl red (AR) has been investigated under different conditions; i.e., Cu-loading, initial concentration of AR, and pH. The kinetics of the photodegradation process is further found to comply with the Lagergren kinetic law, regardless the experimental conditions. Nevertheless, the photodegradation process is not only controlled by the intra-particle diffusion mechanism, but also by mass transfer through a liquid film boundary. The maximum degradation of AR, i.e., 86%, has been achieved at pH = 5.0 during 60 min of contact time for the 2% Cu doping, with effective regeneration. The Freundlich model exhibits a better fitting for AR dye photodegradation equilibrium data, compared to Langmuir, Temkin, and Dubinin-Radushkevich.

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Data availability

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

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Materials Technology and Process Engineering Laboratory, University of Bejaia, Bejaia, Algeria

    Ahmed Kerrami, Laila Mahtout, Souhila Rabhi & Hayet Belkacemi

  2. Department of Chemistry, College of Sciences, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU), P.O. Box 5701, Riyadh, 11432, Saudi Arabia

    Lotfi Khezami

  3. Department of Physics, College of Science, University of Bahrain, PO Box 32038, Zallaq, Kingdom of Bahrain

    Mohamed Bououdina

  4. Department of Chemistry, College of Science & Arts, Qassim University, Ar Rass, Saudi Arabia

    Abueliz Modwi

  5. Department of Physics, URMPE Unite, UMBB University, 35000, Boumerdes, Algeria

    Faycal Bensouici

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  1. Ahmed Kerrami
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  2. Lotfi Khezami
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Contributions

Ahmed Kerrami: validation, investigation, visualization, resources, writing (original draft), and writing (review and editing)

Lotfi Khezami: methodology, validation, writing (original draft), writing (review and editing), validation, and investigation

Mohamed Bououdina: conceptualization, validation, writing (original draft), writing (review and editing), visualization, and supervision

Laila Mahtout: conceptualization, methodology, resources, and supervision

Abueliz Modwi: methodology, validation, investigation, and review and editing

Souhila Rabhi: validation, investigation, review and editing

Faycal Bensouici and Hayet Belkacemi: conceptualization, methodology, resources, and supervision

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Correspondence to Lotfi Khezami.

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Kerrami, A., Khezami, L., Bououdina, M. et al. Efficient photodegradation of azucryl red by copper-doped TiO2 nanoparticles—experimental and modeling studies. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 57543–57556 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-14682-z

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