Diffused sunlight driven highly synergistic pathway for complete mineralization of organic contaminants using reduced graphene oxide supported photocatalyst.

Ganesh Babu, Sundaram; Vinoth, Ramalingam; Neppolian, Bernaurdshaw; Dionysiou, Dionysios D.; Ashokkumar, Muthupandian

Abstract

Diffused sunlight is found to be an effective light source for the efficient degradation and mineralization of organic pollutant (methyl orange as a probe) by sono-photocatalytic degradation using reduced graphene oxide (rGO) supported CuO–TiO2 photocatalyst. The prepared catalysts are characterized by XRD, XPS, UV–vis DRS, PL, photoelectrochemical, SEM-EDS and TEM. A 10-fold synergy is achieved for the first time by combining sonochemical and photocatalytic degradation under diffused sunlight. rGO loading augments the activity of bare CuO–TiO2 more than two fold. The ability of rGO in storing, transferring, and shuttling electrons at the heterojunction between TiO2 and CuO facilitates the separation of photogenerated electron–hole pairs, as evidenced by the photoluminescence results. The complete mineralization of MO and the by-products within a short span of time is confirmed by TOC analysis. Further, hydroxyl radical mediated degradation under diffused sunlight is confirmed by LC–MS. This system shows similar activity for the degradation of methylene blue and 4-chlorophenol, indicating the versatility of the catalyst for the degradation of various pollutants. This investigation is likely to open new possibilities for the development of highly efficient diffused sunlight-driven TiO2-based photocatalysts for the complete mineralization of organic contaminants.

Citation

GANESH BABU, S., VINOTH, R., NEPPOLIAN, B., DIONYSIOU, D.D. and ASHOKKUMAR, M. 2015. Diffused sunlight driven highly synergistic pathway for complete mineralization of organic contaminants using reduced graphene oxide supported photocatalyst. Journal of hazardous materials [online], 291, pages 83-92. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2015.02.071

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 26, 2015
• Online Publication Date: Feb 27, 2015
• Publication Date: Jun 30, 2015
• Deposit Date: Oct 24, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 13, 2024
• Journal: Journal of hazardous materials
• Print ISSN: 0304-3894
• Electronic ISSN: 1873-3336
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 291
• Pages: 83-92
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2015.02.071
• Keywords: Photocatalysis; Photocatalysts; Sonophotochemistry; Ultrasound
• Public URL: https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/2120613