Enhanced Photocatalytic Degradation of Malachite Green Using Highly Efficient Copper Oxide/Graphene Oxide Nanocomposites

In recent years, enormous attention has been paid to environmental contamination, especially human exposure to dyes because of their extensive use in industries including textiles, paper, plastics, tannery paints etc. These dyes impart colour to water and thereby impede light penetration which can eventually degrade the water quality and thus inhibits the photosynthetic activity in aquatic organisms. Due to the favourable reaction conditions, high rate of degradation and wide application area. Photocatalysis is a viable approach for addressing such environmental issues. In the present study, we have successfully synthesized an efficient photocatalyst based on copper oxide/graphene oxide (CuO/GO) nanocomposites in a short period of time through a cost-effective and environment-friendly method. A new area of bioremediation has been made possible by the enhanced ability of these nanocomposites to absorb light and improved heterogeneous catalytic efficiency. Various techniques such as UV-VIS spectroscopy, XRD, FTIR, SEM EDX and HR-TEM have been used to characterize the nanocomposites. The photocatalytic activity of the nanocomposites has been investigated using Malachite Green (MG) dyes as a model for water contaminants. The effect of time, dye concentration, photocatalyst dosage, and pH value on the efficiency of the photocatalyst and the photodegradation kinetics has been analysed in detail. The results indicate that the CuO/GO nanocomposites have the potential to function as an effective and versatile photocatalyst for the degradation of MG. [GRAPHICS] .