Synthesis of cuprous oxide nanocubes combined with chitosan nanoparticles and its application to p-nitrophenol degradation

• Published in: Mongolian journal of chemistry Vol. 22; no. 48; pp. 31 - 37
• Main Authors: Thi Bich Quyen, Tran, Nguyen Tra My, Ngo, Thi Thuy Ngan, Do, Toan Pham, Duy, Van Hong Thien, Doan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Mongolian Academy of Sciences 09.09.2021
• Subjects: chitosan nanoparticles; cuprous oxide nanocubes; cuprous oxide nanocubes/chitosan nanoparticles composites; p-nitrophenol; photocatalytic activity
• ISSN: 2226-6739; 2414-0082
• DOI: 10.5564/mjc.v22i48.1564

For the first time, cuprous oxide nanocubes (Cu2O NCBs) were successfully combined with chitosan nanoparticles (CS NPs) to generate Cu2O NCBs/CS NPs composites material with highly optical property and photocatalytic activity using a simple and eco-friendly synthetic approach at room temperature for 30 min. The synthesized Cu2O NCBs NPs/CS NPs were determined characterizations by Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-vis), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X – ray Diffraction (XRD),  Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) and Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). Results show that the Cu2O NCBs/CS NPs composites have an average particle size of ~3-5 nm; in which, Cu2O has the form of nanocubes (Cu2O NCBs) with size ~3-4 nm and chitosan nanoparticles with spherical shape (CS NPs) with size ~4-5 nm. In addition, the percent (%) composition of elements present in Cu2O NCBs/CS NPs composites material have been obtained respective: Cu (23.99%), O (38.18%), and C (33.61%). Moreover, Cu2O NCBs/CS NPs composites material was also investigated for photocatalytic activity applied in p-nitrophenol degradation. The obtained results showed that the catalytic capability of Cu2O NCBs/CS NPs for p-nitrophenol reduction reached the highest efficiency >55% in the treatment time of 25 min, and this efficiency was higher than that result of using ZnO@chitosan nanoparticles (ZnO@CS NPs) catalyst under the same conditions for comparison.