CuO/ZnO coupled oxide films obtained by the electrodeposition technique and their photocatalytic activity in phenol degradation under solar irradiation

Abstract

CuO/ZnO coupled oxide films were electrodeposited onto an aluminum substrate and tested as photocatalysts in degradation of phenol molecules in aqueous solution under sunlight. The obtained films were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The results showed that the photocatalytic activity of films was significant, especially to coupled oxide film with a CuO/ZnO ratio equal to 0.697, which presented about 70% degradation of the aromatic molecules and 42% of total organic carbon (TOC) removal at 300 min under solar irradiation. Therefore, this work highlights the potential application of CuO/ZnO coupled oxide films obtained by electrodeposition onto aluminum substrate in the field of photocatalysis.