Wastewater treatment: A universal, scalable and recyclable catalyst with adjustable activity for diverse dyes degradation

• Published in: Journal of environmental management Vol. 330; p. 117188
• Main Authors: Zhou, Huiqin, Ji, Shanshan, Zhang, Qinqin, Jin, Weihong, Feng, Anlin, Lin, Chaoyu, Li, Qingyang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 15.03.2023
• Subjects: Array catalyst; Catalytic hydrogenation; Coloring Agents; Cu nanoparticles; Oxides; Sewage; Wastewater; Wastewater treatment; Zinc; Zinc Oxide - chemistry; ZnO nanowires; Cu nanoparticles; ZnO nanowires; Array catalyst; Catalytic hydrogenation; Wastewater treatment
• ISSN: 0301-4797; 1095-8630
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.117188

The growing concern over water shortage and pollution is propelling and accelerating the development of sewage treatment technologies. Among them, the catalytic hydrogenation method is highly recommended from a sustainable perspective, because it can turn toxic pollutants into valuable raw materials. The catalyst with excellent activity and stability plays a critical role in this “trash to treasure” approach. Herein, we proposed a novel economical, scalable and recyclable candidate catalyst, i.e., the copper nanoparticles supported on zinc oxide nanowire array (Cu–ZnO NWA), for realizing efficient and stable dye wastewater treatment. The salix argyracea-shaped Cu–ZnO NWA displays very outstanding universality and controllability towards the catalytic hydrogenation reactions of diverse dyes, owing to the fact that ZnO nanowire array not only offers a platform to realize stable and homogeneous dispersion of Cu nanoparticles, but also provides a large quantity of catalytically active sites. More attractively, its synthetic method can be facilely extended to various conductive substrates through combined electrodeposition and hydrothermal technique, showing its general applicability for the surface assembly of sewage treatment facilities. Benefiting from above advantages, this proposal offers an attractive approach for large-scale and continuous decolorization of dye wastewater, and presents a broad application prospect in the textile printing industry. [Display omitted] •A novel economical, scalable and recyclable nano-array catalyst is synthesized.•It is copper nanoparticles supported on zinc oxide nanowire array (Cu–ZnO NWA).•It shows universal activity towards the catalytic hydrogenation of diverse dyes.•Its synthetic method can be facilely extended to various conductor materials.•The Cu–ZnO NWA has a broad application prospect in dye wastewater decolorization.