The Photocatalytic Performance of Nd2O3 Doped CuO Nanoparticles with Enhanced Methylene Blue Degradation: Synthesis, Characterization and Comparative Study

Fatma El-Sayed; Mai S A Hussien; Mervat I Mohammed; Vanga Ganesh; Thekrayat H AlAbdulaal; Heba Y Zahran; Ibrahim S Yahia; Hosam H Hegazy; Mohamed Sh Abdel-Wahab; Mohd Shkir; Santiyagu Valarasu; Medhat A Ibrahim

doi:10.3390/nano12071060

The Photocatalytic Performance of Nd₂O₃ Doped CuO Nanoparticles with Enhanced Methylene Blue Degradation: Synthesis, Characterization and Comparative Study

Nanomaterials (Basel). 2022 Mar 24;12(7):1060. doi: 10.3390/nano12071060.

Authors

Fatma El-Sayed¹, Mai S A Hussien^{1

2}, Mervat I Mohammed¹, Vanga Ganesh³, Thekrayat H AlAbdulaal³, Heba Y Zahran^{3

4

5}, Ibrahim S Yahia^{3

4

5}, Hosam H Hegazy^{3

6}, Mohamed Sh Abdel-Wahab⁷, Mohd Shkir³, Santiyagu Valarasu⁸, Medhat A Ibrahim^{9

10}

Affiliations

¹ Nanoscience Laboratory for Environmental and Bio-Medical Applications (NLEBA), Metallurgical Lab.1, Department of Physics, Faculty of Education, Ain Shams University, Roxy, Cairo 11757, Egypt.
² Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Education, Ain Shams University, Roxy, Cairo 11757, Egypt.
³ Laboratory of Nano-Smart Materials for Science and Technology (LNSMST), Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, King Khalid University, P.O. Box 9004, Abha 61413, Saudi Arabia.
⁴ Research Center for Advanced Materials Science (RCAMS), King Khalid University, P.O. Box 9004, Abha 61413, Saudi Arabia.
⁵ Semiconductor Laboratory, Department of Physics, Faculty of Education, Ain Shams University, Roxy, Cairo 11757, Egypt.
⁶ Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Assiut 71524, Egypt.
⁷ Materials Science and Nanotechnology Department, Faculty of Postgraduate Studies for Advanced Sciences, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef 62511, Egypt.
⁸ PG and Research Department of Physics, Arul Anandar College, Madurai 625514, India.
⁹ Nanotechnology Research Centre (NTRC), The British University in Egypt (BUE), Suez Desert Road, El-Sherouk City, Cairo 11837, Egypt.
¹⁰ Molecular Spectroscopy and Modeling Unit, Spectroscopy Department, National Research Centre, 33 El-Bohouth Street, Giza 12622, Egypt.

Abstract

The growth of the textile industry results in a massive accumulation of dyes on water. This enormous rise in pigments is the primary source of water pollution, affecting the aquatic lives and our ecosystem balance. This study aims to notify the fabrication of neodymium incorporated copper oxide (Nd₂O₃ doped CuO) nanoparticles by combustion method for effective degradation of dye, methylene blue (MB). X-ray diffraction (XRD), Field emission Scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), Zeta potential have been applied for characterization. Photocatalyst validity has been evaluated for methylene blue degradation (MB). Test conditions such as time of contact, H₂O₂, pH, and photo-Fenton have been modified to identify optimal degradation conditions. Noticeably, 7.5% Nd₂O₃ doped CuO nanoparticle demonstrated the highest photocatalytic efficiency, up to 90.8% in 80 min, with a 0.0227 min^-1 degradation rate. However, the photocatalytic efficiency at pH 10 becomes 99% with a rate constant of 0.082 min^-1. Cyclic experiments showed the Nd₂O₃ doped CuO nanoparticle's stability over repeated use. Scavenge hydroxyl radical species responsible for degradation using 7.5% Nd₂O₃ doped CuO nanoparticles have been investigated under visible irradiation.

Keywords: Nd2O3 doped CuO nanoparticle; XRD/SEM; methylene blue; nanostructured photocatalyst; photo-Fenton; visible light.