Sonochemical Synthesis, Thermal Behavior and Luminescent Properties of Copper(II) Supramolecular, a Precursor for Preparation of CuO Nanoparticles and the Study of their Photocatalytic Activity

Abstract

A supramolecular complex formulated as [Cu(dipic)(H2O)2]n (1) (H2dipic = pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylic acid) was sonochemically synthesized and characterized using elemental analysis, FT-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and single crystal X-ray diffraction (SC-XRD). The thermal behavior (TGA/DSC) and luminescent properties of 1 were also studied. Geometric parameters and energies of 1 were calculated using the 6-31G basis set and Gaussian 98 program. CuO nanoparticles were achieved by thermal decomposition of 1 at 600 °C. Next, FT-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and nitrogen sorption technique were used to characterize the structure and physicochemical properties of the CuO nanoparticles which were used in the photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange (MO) in the presence of ultraviolet light in a Plexiglas reactor. The effects of irradiation time, methyl orange concentration, and irradiation intensity on the percentage of MO destroyed were investigated. The results showed that in the presence of ultraviolet irradiation and by optimizing irradiation time, color concentration, and irradiation intensity, CuO nanoparticles perform well in degrading methyl orange.