Ultra-fast degradation of phenolics and dyes by Cu2O/Cu catalysts: Synthesis and degradation kinetics

The complex and time-consuming character of the current methods to synthesize cuprous catalysts hampers use of such compounds as replacements for noble metal catalysts for the degradation of organic pollutants . Herein, we report on the development of a simple one-pot method for synthesis of Cu 2 O/Cu nanoparticles . The method was comprised of adding benzyl alcohol during the process of nanoparticle synthesis, where the amount of benzyl alcohol used determined the content of Cu in the obtained nanoparticles . A thorough physicochemical characterization was carried out for the synthesized nanoparticles, where it was found that they could act as catalysts for ultra-fast degradation of phenolics and dyes. Thus, their catalytic activity for the degradation of 4-nitrophenol, methyl orange, and Congo red were evaluated, where pseudo-first-order kinetics were observed. The percentage degradation and rate constant (k app ) values were, respectively, 98% (in 60 s) and k app = 61.23 × 10 −3 s −1 for 4-nitrophenol, 96% (in 100 s) and k app = 31.5 × 10 −3 s −1 for methyl orange, and 97% (in 100 s) and k app = 35.5 × 10 −3 s −1 for Congo red. Comparisons with previously reported cuprous catalysts for degradation of these compounds revealed that the Cu 2 O/Cu nanoparticles of the present paper exhibited the fastest degradation rates.