Synthesis of Cr/Mn and S - doped with CuO nanoparticles and systematic investigations of structural, optical and photocatalytic properties

Abstract

CuO:S/CuCr2O4 and CuO:S/CuMn2O4 nanocomposites were synthesized by chemical deposition, and they were characterized by FTIR, FESEM, EDX, XRD, TEM, UV–Vis DRS, zeta potential and TG-DTA. Analysis of FESEM, TEM, and EDS data revealed that nanocomposites have a sheet structure and that elements are homogeneously distributed all over it. The Cr and Mn elements doped in CuO:S/CuCr2O4 and CuO:S/CuMn2O4 nanocomposites form the CuCr2O4 and CuMn2O4 spinel structures, respectively. Thermal analysis shows that the compounds have high thermal constancy. The photocatalytic study of the compounds is successful in cationic (methylene blue) and anionic (methyl orange) degradation of colored pollutants in the presence of H2O2 and under sunlight. Therefore, the amount of contaminants before the reaction is compared with that after the study of photocatalysts and the contaminants’ concentration after the photocatalytic reaction, which shows the considerable degradation power of the photocatalysts.