Cotton fabric coated with graphene oxide nanosheets and CuO nanoparticles as a “dip catalyst” for the photocatalytic degradation of dyes

This research focuses on the immobilization in-situ of CuO nanoparticles on graphene oxide nanosheets modified cotton fabric (CuO/GO@CF) for the photodegradation, of organic dyes. The process involves coating the fabrics (CF) with graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets through sonication.

The produced CuO, GO@CF, and CuO/GO@CF have been characterized utilizing various physicochemical methods, such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourrier Transformed Infra-Red (FTIR), trans mission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA).

The catalytic activity of the nanocomposite was assessed by methylene blue (MB) oxidation. Additionally, a detailed analysis was conducted to determine how various parameters, including catalyst surface, pH, MB concentration and CuO loading (%), affected the degradation efficiency. The results showed that the 10 %CuO/5 %GO@CF with a surface of 4 cm² (2 × 2 cm) exhibited the highest catalytic activity, achieving a MB removal efficiency of 82 % in 90 min. Additionally, after successive reaction cycles, the synthesized composite showed excellent stability and no appreciable drop-in catalytic activity. Moreover, it was shown that the primary reactive oxidative species (ROSs) in charge of the extremely effective MB breakdown were HO^.. Lastly, catalyst stability and recyclability showed that CuO/GO@CF might be used as a substitute photocatalyst for environmental cleanup and dye degradation. This synthetized composite can be easily added to and removed from the reaction solution while maintaining high catalytic performance in the removal of dyes and it could be beneficial in avoiding problems related to powder separation.