A prototype integrated approach for sustainable treatment of organic dyes system using ZnO–CuO–AgO heterostructure as photocatalyst

Abstract

Abstract Water contamination by dyes poses a significant concern for both human health and the environment. Adsorption-based, coagulation, and membrane separation methods have been investigated for the degradation or removal of dyes. However, the use of metal oxide photocatalysts has emerged as a promising approach to address this issue. The efficiency of single metal oxide is limited by high electron-hole pair recombination rates and inefficient absorption of visible light. In the present study, we investigate the ZnO–CuO–AgO photocatalyst for enhanced photodegradation of organic dyes (azo carmine (AC), cresol red (CR), indigo carmine (IC), and neutral red (NR)). ZnO–CuO–AgO nanocomposite is prepared via the hydrothermal method. The structure of the nanocomposite is analyzed by XRD and FTIR spectroscopy. The morphology of the nanocomposite is examined by TEM analysis. Dye degradation is examined using UV-visible spectroscopy, and the degradation efficiency is estimated by analyzing the absorbance curve. Photodegradation studies of AC, CR, IC, and NR dyes show optimal performance at pH 7 with a photocatalyst loading of 0.2 gL − 1 for 25 ppm dye solutions. The degradation percentages of AC, CR, IC, and NR are 94.7%, 80.65%, 97.15%, and 60.16%, respectively. The photodegradation of quaternary dye solution by the nanocomposite exhibited a degradation efficiency of 86.72%. In addition, turbine-based and cloth-based prototypes decorated with ZnO–CuO–AgO exhibit high degradation efficiencies of 91.41% and 88.58%, respectively.