S-Schematic CuWO4/ZnO nanocomposite boosted photocatalytic degradation of organic dye pollutants

S-schematic CuWO4/ZnO nanocomposite photocatalyst was synthesized by an impregnation method. Synthesized CuWO4 and ZnO nanoparticles, and CuWO4/ZnO nanocomposites were thoroughly characterized. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis of the CuWO4/ZnO nanocomposite confirmed the respective triclinic and hexagonal wurtzite structures of CuWO4 and ZnO crystals. Raman and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) revealed bond formations in CuWO4 and ZnO, and confirmed the synthesis of the CuWO4/ZnO nanocomposite. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed CuWO4 nanoparticles adhered to ZnO aggregates. Energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS) confirmed the distribution of CuWO4 on the ZnO aggregates. UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) showed optical bandgap energies of 2.36 eV for CuWO4 and 3.18 eV for ZnO nanoparticles. The photocatalytic performance of the CuWO4/ZnO nanocomposite was investigated through the degradation of the cationic dyes methylene blue (MB) and Rhodamine B (RhB) and the anionic dye methyl orange (MO). A 5.0%CuWO4/ZnO nanocomposite degraded 100% of MB within 120 min, 91.02% of RhB within 300 min, and 89.13% of MO within 300 min. The pseudo-first order kinetic rate constant fit well for the degradation of all the dyes on the CuWO4/ZnO nanocomposite. The CuWO4/ZnO nanocomposite could better degrade the cationic dyes than the anionic dye in an aqueous solution. The hole (h+), the hydroxyl radical (•OH), and the superoxide ion (•O2−) were the active species responsible for degrading MB, RhB and MO dyes. The proposed CuWO4/ZnO nanocomposite could be applied for environment friendly wastewater treatment.