Synergistic effect of sono-photocatalytic process for the degradation of organic pollutants using CuO-TiO2/rGO

Sundaram Ganesh Babu; Peramaiah Karthik; Miriam C John; Sandeep Kumar Lakhera; Muthupandian Ashokkumar; Jeehyeong Khim; Bernaurdshaw Neppolian

doi:10.1016/j.ultsonch.2018.09.021

Synergistic effect of sono-photocatalytic process for the degradation of organic pollutants using CuO-TiO₂/rGO

Ultrason Sonochem. 2019 Jan:50:218-223. doi: 10.1016/j.ultsonch.2018.09.021. Epub 2018 Sep 22.

Authors

Sundaram Ganesh Babu¹, Peramaiah Karthik², Miriam C John², Sandeep Kumar Lakhera², Muthupandian Ashokkumar³, Jeehyeong Khim⁴, Bernaurdshaw Neppolian⁵

Affiliations

¹ SRM Research Institute, SRM University, Kattankulathur, 603203 Chennai, Tamilnadu, India; Institute of Catalysis, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7701, South Africa.
² SRM Research Institute, SRM University, Kattankulathur, 603203 Chennai, Tamilnadu, India.
³ School of Chemistry, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia.
⁴ School of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, South Korea.
⁵ SRM Research Institute, SRM University, Kattankulathur, 603203 Chennai, Tamilnadu, India. Electronic address: neppolian.b@res.srmuniv.ac.in.

PMID: 30274887
DOI: 10.1016/j.ultsonch.2018.09.021

Abstract

Combinations of different Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) are being exploited for waste water treatment. The usage of ultrasound in photocatalysis finds much attention as the combined process offers some advantages over individual processes. Herein, we report the ultrasound assisted photocatalytic degradation of an organic pollutant (methyl orange as a model dye) in the presence of CuO-TiO₂/rGO photocatalyst which was prepared by a simple wet impregnation method. A synergistic effect (3.7-fold) was observed by combining the sonolysis and photocatalysis processes. Influence of Cu loading and graphene oxide (GO) dosage over the photocatalytic performance of TiO₂ was examined in detail. The catalyst dosage and initial concentration of MO were optimized based on a series of experimental studies. Besides, neutral pH was found to show an optimum efficiency for this sono-photocatalytic process.

Keywords: CuO-TiO(2)/rGO; Degradation; Organic pollutants; Sono-photocatalysis; Synergistic effect.