Photocatalytic properties of different morphologies of CuO for the degradation of Congo red organic dye

In this study, Congo red organic dye was degraded by different morphologies of CuO and it was found that CuO nanorods are more favorable for the degradation of Congo red due to their more specific surface area and sensitive surface for the Congo red. All the CuO nanostructures were prepared by low temperature aqueous growth method. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques were used for the morphological and structural characterization of CuO nanostructures. The relative degradation of Congo red for nanorods, nanoleaves and nanosheets was in order 67%, 48% and 12% respectively. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.