Solar-assisted photodegradation of methyl orange using Cu-doped ZnO nanorods

This paper focuses on the solar-assisted photodegradation of Methyl Orange (MO) dye as model molecule using Cu-doped ZnO nanorods synthesized through a chemical method using a solution of zinc chloride (ZnCl2) as precursor, and with the addition of different concentrations of Cu(NO3)(2) and NaOH at 65 degrees C. The samples were characterized by TEM, XRD, XPS, BET and UV-vis spectroscopy. The amount of Cu and catalyst dosage on the rate of photodegradation were investigated. The measurements of the band gap made by visible UV-vis spectroscopy showed that it decreased as the dopant material increased. The Cu-doped ZnO nanorods showed excellent photodegradation efficiency and good recycling performance. The decomposition reaction was found to be pseudo-first order. Optimal experimental conditions were determined for Cu-doped ZnO nanorods with a catalyst dose of 0.3 g/L and 99% of MO degradation was obtained after 120 min of solar exposure.