Simple synthesis and characterization of copper tungstate nanoparticles: investigation of surfactant effect and its photocatalyst application

Abstract

In the current study, an attempt is made to synthesize copper tungstate (CuWO4) nanoparticles via a large-scale and facile sonochemical method with the aid of copper (II) nitrate and sodium tungstate dihydrate in an aqueous solution. Besides, three polymeric surfactant agents such as polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyethylene glycol, and polyvinyl alcohol were used to investigate their effects on the morphology and particle size of CuWO4. XRD, SEM, EDS, and UV–Vis spectroscopy were employed to characterize structural, morphological, and optical properties of CuWO4 nanoparticles. According to the vibrating sample magnetometer result, CuWO4 nanoparticles indicated a paramagnetic behavior at room temperature. In addition, methyl orange was chosen as a dye water pollution to evaluate its degradation by as-synthesize copper tungstate under ultraviolet light irradiation. Furthermore, the photocatalysis results reveal that the maximum decolorization of 75 % for methyl orange occurred with CuWO4 nanoparticles in 90 min under ultraviolet light irradiation.