Photocatalytic Degradation of Organic Wastewater Pollutants by Green Photocatalyst

Abstract

Dyes present in industrial wastewater are harmful to humans as well as environment. They are non-biodegradable synthetic materials that are difficult to degrade naturally. At present the simplest, economical and ecofriendly method for dye degradation is application of metal oxides nanoparticles as photocatalyst. Fabrication of metal oxide nanoparticles by using safe and cheap natural products as reducing and capping agents is highly interesting field in material sciences. This research focuses on green synthesis of copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPS) by using propyl gallate as reducing, capping and stabilizing agent. It was confirmed and characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy, XRD crystallography and FTIR analysis. Synthesized nanoparticles was employed as photocatalyst for the degradation of various waste- water dyes and optimization of dye degradation was carried out for various parameters like, pH, temperature, and dye concentration. The results demonstrate that in comparison to methyl orange it was more efficient against methylene blue and congo red degradation with 93 % and 89% removal respectively in 120 minutes.