NiO:Cu+2 mesoporous nanoparticles with enhanced oxidative sonophotocatalytic performance for visible-light driven organic pollutants remediation

Abstract

Mesoporous nickel oxide nanostructures were synthesized using a solvothermal method. and then doped with Cu2+ via high energy planetary ball milling technique. crystallinity, morphology, porosity, size, and composition of the nanoparticles were evaluated using XRD, BET, TEM, and EDX techniques. The as-prepared doped nanoparticles were used for the first time in the oxidative sonophotocatalytic removing of organic pollutants in low-frequency and low-energy ultrasound waves at room temperature in the presence of visible light. After 60 min of double irradiation (ultrasound + Visible light) in the presence of doped nanoparticles, more than 86 % of the pollutants were removed; reaching a constant rate of 0.0363 min−1. integration ultrasonic and visible light in the oxidative sonophotocatalytic remediation process resulted in a synergistic effect of about 72 %. Above all, the results showed the high reusability and stability of the doped nanoparticles in consecutive runs with minor fading in their sonophotocatalytic performance. To investigate the mechanism, the performance of the oxidative sonophotocatalytic removing process was examined by the addition of different types of trapping and enhancer agents. Finally, the generality of the process was evaluated by the remediation of commercially available antibiotics from water.