Construction of novel biochar supported copper tungstate nanocomposites: A fruitful divergent catalyst for photocatalysis and electrocatalysis. (February 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Thiruppathi, M.; Leeladevi, K.; Ramalingan, C.; Chen, Kuan-Chung; Nagarajan, E.R.
• Is Part Of: Materials science in semiconductor processing. Volume 106(2020)
• Publication Date: 2020-02
• Subjects: Ciprofloxacin -- Hydrothermal method -- Methanol oxidation -- Pharmaceuticals; Semiconductors -- Periodicals; Integrated circuits -- Materials -- Periodicals; Semiconducteurs -- Périodiques; Circuits intégrés -- Matériaux -- Périodiques; Electronic journals; 621.38152
• DOI: 10.1016/j.mssp.2019.104766
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1369-8001

Abstract

Abstract: In the past few years, the occurrence of pharmaceutical wastes into the environment increases in day-to-day and poses negative risks to the living organisms. In this work, we developed novel biochar supported copper tungstate nanocomposites (Bio-CuWO4 NCs) and utilized as a visible light active photocatalyst for the degradation of ciprofloxacin (CF) drug and electrocatalyst for the oxidation of methanol. The Bio-CuWO4 NCs were synthesized by simple hydrothermal method and the successful formation was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) measurements revealed that the Bio-CuWO4 NCs exhibited higher active surface area when compared to pristine biochar. The UV–visible spectroscopy results portrayed that the Bio-CuWO4 NCs degrade up to 97% of CF aqueous suspension after 90 min of visible light irradiation with good repeatability and stability. In addition, the Bio-CuWO4 NCs demonstrated higher peak current in methanol oxidation reaction. Graphical abstract: Image 1