Photocatalytic activity of nanostructured copper (ii) oxide Particles

Abstract

Copper (II) Oxide nanostructured particles have been successfully synthesized by a simple wet chemistry method. The materials obtained were characterized and applied in photodegradation of methylene blue. The XRD pattern obtained reveals crystallinity with major peaks at 2q values 35.53°, 38.71° and 48.75° exhibiting cupric phase of the material with monoclinic lattice system. The average grain size of the particle was estimated using Scherrer formular to be 25.79 nm. The morphology of the materialas revealed by the SEM image shows coaleascence of grains as large island. Photocatalytic activity of the black coloured Copper (II) oxide was demonstrated on Methylene blue with photodegradation efficiency obtained to be 45.12 %.

Keywords: Semiconductor, Nanostructured, Photocatalytic, Morphology, Synthesis, XRD