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The study of TiO2/Cu2O nanoparticles as an efficient nanophotocalyst toward surface adsorption and photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue

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Abstract

Herein, cost-effective TiO2/Cu2O nanoparticles were synthesized via a simple reaction route and applied-for efficient photodegradation of methylene blue (MB) as a model organic dye. Due to the high surface area of TiO2/Cu2O nanoparticles, adsorption and photodegradation properties were evaluated toward MB degradation, showing a high adsorption yield of about 95.7% along with a 100.0% photodegradation efficiency. The effective factors on both adsorption and photodegradation process including pH, initial concertation of organic dye, amount of TiO2/Cu2O nanoparticles, and temperature were optimized via the one-factor-at-a-time optimization method. The photocatalytic performances of TiO2/Cu2O nanoparticles were compared with the activity of both Degussa p25 TiO2 and Cu2O nanoparticles, showing very higher adsorption and photodegradation yields toward dye degradation. It should be noted that the mechanism of the photodegradation of MB on the surface of TiO2/Cu2O nanoparticles was investigated, revealing an adsorption/photodegradation reaction pathway for this phenomenon.

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Financial support from the research councils of Shiraz University is gratefully acknowledged.

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Hosseini-Sarvari, M., Jafari, F. & Dehghani, A. The study of TiO2/Cu2O nanoparticles as an efficient nanophotocalyst toward surface adsorption and photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue. Appl Nanosci 12, 2195–2205 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13204-022-02474-x

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