Novel and Facile Method for Photocatalytic Disinfection and Removal of Organic Material from Water Using Immobilized Copper Oxide Nano Rods

Abstract In this work, copper oxide nanorods (Cu2O NRs) were directly prepared from copper sheet as substrate. The as grown Cu2O NRs were modified through surface carbon layer deposition via a single-step thermal treatment method. The carbon modified Cu2O NRs has been characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersion X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), furrier transform infrared (FT-IR), and Raman spectroscopy. The results showed that Cu2O NRs were formed on the surface of the metal sheet as non-aligned rods with a diameter of 100−130 nm and 1.5–2.5 μm length. The produced reactive species (OH·) in the photocatalytic experiments was detected and quantified by coumarin as a probe. Furthermore, the inactivation of E. coli bacteria was explored as a model for antimicrobial performance. Tannic acid was used as a model of NOM. The carbon modified Cu2O NRs showed an enhanced photocatalytic degradation performance for (NOM). At the end of photocatalytic experiments, 99 % of tannic acid and 93 % of COD removal were obtained. Also, complete inactivation of E. coli bacteria is achieved. The results indicated that Cu2O NRs in a modified form could be used for five cycles of photocatalytic degradation.