Novel in-situ synthesis of copper oxide nanoparticle in smart polymer microgel for catalytic reduction of methylene blue

The present study involves the synthesis of poly-(N-isopropylmethacrylamide-co-methacrylic acid) [p (NiPmA-mAc)] microgels for the stabilization of copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs) via free radical precipitation approach and synthesized material as a catalyst for catalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye. Results clearly indicate that p(NiPmA-mAc) microgel not only serves as an excellent micro reactor but also works as an effective stabilizing / fabricating medium for the successful synthesis of CuO NPs. UV-Vis spectra of CuO-[p(NiPmA-mAc)] showed the maximum peak was observed at 400 nm. Scanning electron microscopic (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis showed spherical morphology of in-situ synthesized CuO NPs with crystalline size of 20 +/- 4 nm. Different parameters which affect catalytic reduction reactions such as pollutant/catalyst dose, reductant concentration and effect of time were investigated. Results showed that the apparent rate constant for catalytic reduction of MB was 0.5307 min(-1). The application of the CuO NPs loaded p(NiPmA-mAc) microgel catalyst for catalytic degradation of MB has shown excellent results with complete degradation (100%) within 15 min. Further, the recyclability of the CuO-[p(NiPmA-mAc)] catalyst has shown promising results during four consecutive cycles thus, confirming its stability.(C) 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This study successfully synthesized poly-(N-isopropylmethacrylamide-co-methacrylic acid) microgels for stabilizing copper oxide nanoparticles and used them as catalysts for dye degradation. The microgels not only functioned as microreactors, but also efficiently synthesized CuO NPs. The CuO NPs loaded microgel catalyst showed excellent performance in dye degradation.