Issue 17, 2016

Interaction between copper and carbon nanotubes triggers their mutual role in the enhanced photodegradation of p-chloroaniline

Abstract

Copper (Cu, 1–5 wt%) was loaded onto carbon nanotubes (CNTs) by a simple electrochemical method. The physicochemical properties of catalysts (Cu/CNTs) were characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), nitrogen (N2) adsorption–desorption, Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and electron spinning resonance (ESR). The results showed that the Cu was distributed well on the CNT surface by the interaction of Cu2+ ions with –OH and –COOH groups on the CNT surface, which preferentially occurred at the defect sites along the CNT backbone. The Cu–O–C bonds formed were found to play an important role in enhancing the photoactivity of the catalysts. The highest number of Cu–O–C bonds possessed by 3 wt% Cu/CNTs demonstrated the best performance in the degradation of p-chloroaniline (96%) under UV light irradiation within 5 h of reaction at 27 °C and under neutral pH conditions. Kinetic studies showed that the degradation followed the pseudo-first order model and the surface reaction was the controlling step. It is believed that these results could contribute to the synthesis of various supported catalysts for various applications.

Graphical abstract: Interaction between copper and carbon nanotubes triggers their mutual role in the enhanced photodegradation of p-chloroaniline

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
31 Dec 2015
Accepted
28 Mar 2016
First published
29 Mar 2016

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2016,18, 12323-12331

Interaction between copper and carbon nanotubes triggers their mutual role in the enhanced photodegradation of p-chloroaniline

N. F. Khusnun, A. A. Jalil, S. Triwahyono, N. W. C. Jusoh, A. Johari and K. Kidam, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2016, 18, 12323 DOI: 10.1039/C5CP08068A

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements