Water Treatment Ability of CuO-ZnO Nanocomposites Synthesized by Laser Ablation and Anodization Techniques

Abstract

The article describes new ideas about the differences in the pollutant-removal ability of nanocomposite prepared by two methods. Nanocomposites (CuO-ZnO) can be simply synthesized chemically in aqueous solution by anodization method or physically by a laser ablation method. Therefore, both anodization and laser ablation methods were investigated. UV-visible spectra, atomic force microscopy AFM, and transmission electron microscopy TEM were used for characterizations. Results indicated that nanoparticles prepared by laser ablation had less diameters (74nm) than that prepared by anodization method. TEM images showed that particles produced by laser ablation method were homogeneous and core-shell structures with no aggregation, but that produced by anodization method were aggregated. This result could suggest that the laser ablation method is specifically preferable. The nanoparticles diameters ranged from 10–17 nm, which may confirm that ZnO nanoparticles have successfully shielded the CuO nanocore. Results also indicated that these synthesized nanocomposites have actively removed pollutions from water samples of Diyala River. There is a clear difference between the activity of laser ablation nanocomposite and that of anodization composite. Laser ablation nanocomposite needs less than 60 min to treat 85% of water pollution, but with anodization composite, even after 90 min. the water sample is still polluted (30% treated). Laser ablation nanocomposites give high performance of removing pollutants.