Abstract

Background: Fenton reaction has been used for wastewater treatment. Photo- Fenton-like reaction which utilizes light irradiation is an alternative for Fenton reaction to enhance the degradation of pollutants.

Objective: To synthesize a photo-Fenton-like catalyst of high catalytic activity.

Methods: The heterojunction photo-Fenton-like catalysts of Cu2S-TiO2/multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were prepared by incorporating photocatalyst TiO2 into Fenton-like catalyst Cu2S-loaded MWCNTs (Cu2S/MWCNTs). The morphologies and structures of the samples were studied by means of transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and nitrogen adsorption/desorption at 77 K. The photo-Fenton-like catalytic activity of TiO2-Cu2S/MWCNTs was investigated with degradation of methylene blue under solar light.

Results: TiO2-Cu2S/MWCNTs nanocomposites were prepared by incorporating TiO2 into Cu2S/MWCNTs. The XRD results showed the coexistence of anatase TiO2 and Cu2S in the samples. The nanocomposites had a nanoporous structure with BET specific surface area of 105 m2g-1 and main mesopores with pore volume of 0.71 cm3g-1, showing photo-Fenton-like catalytic efficiency much higher than only Cu2S/MWCNTs under solar light.

Conclusion: The novel Cu2S-TiO2/MWCNTs exhibited high photo-Fenton-like catalytic efficiency under solar light. It could be explored as a catalyst for wastewater treatment.

Keywords: Carbon nanotubes, photo-Fenton, catalyst, solar light, copper sulfide, titanium dioxide, nanocomposite, wastewater treatment.

Graphical Abstract