Photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange using CuO/Al2O3 nanocomposite obtained by microwave-assisted thermal decomposition route

Abstract

Aluminum oxide (Al2O3) and copper oxide (CuO) are known to exhibit very exceptional properties including high thermal and chemical properties that promise a wide area of applications. In this paper, we report the microwave-assisted thermal decomposition route to CuO/Al2O3 nanocomposite and its application as a photocatalyst for methyl orange (MO) degradation. Al2O3 was first prepared at different temperatures of 900, 1000, and 1100 °C, denoted as Al2O3(1), Al2O3(2), and Al2O3(3). Subsequently, the best temperature (1000 °C) was selected for the synthesis of CuO/Al2O3 nanocomposite. XRD analysis confirmed the hexagonal crystal structure for all the Al2O3 and the monoclinic phase for the CuO within the composite. The crystallite sizes of the alumina increased with temperature and a similar growth pattern occurred in the entire samples. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM) show clear spherical morphology for all the samples with obvious agglomeration as temperature increases. Optical characterization displayed decreasing band gap energies with increasing temperature, implying size increase due to particle interaction, boundary energy reduction, and grain boundary migration. The photocatalytic performance of the CuO/Al2O3 under visible light was evaluated on methyl orange (MO), and the degradation was studied with some process parameters such as the effect of catalysts dosage and initial concentration of MO. Results showed that the CuO/Al2O3 exhibited about 94.2 % efficiency within 3 h using an optimum dose of 2.0 g/L and an initial MO concentration of 20 mg/L. However, the use of CuO/Al2O3 nanocomposites to remove other organic pollutants could confirm the robustness of this catalyst.