A novel CuWO₄-PMMA nanocomposite thin film as trouble-free and handpicking recoverable photocatalyst

ABSTRACT

In the present work, the CuWO₄poly(methyl methacrylate) nanocomposite thin film (CPTF) was effectively fabricated by an effortless, simple and cheap solution casting method and it was confirmed by various analytical techniques. The crystalline size was calculated by the Debye-Sherrer method and the average particle size of pure CuWO₄ and CPTF was found to be 44 nm and 40 nm, respectively. The morphology structure of CPTF nanocomposite was revealed by SEM and TEM analysis and the structure is a cubic and spherical shape with a different magnification of the surface of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) matrix, the average particle size is about 40–50 nm. XPS spectroscopy results confirmed the presence of C 1s, W 4 f, O 1s and Cu 2p components in CPTF nanocomposite. The CPTF was utilised as photocatalytic material for the degradation of ciprofloxacin (CF) and methylene blue (MB) under visible light irradiation within 90 and 70 min, respectively. The higher photocatalytic degradation is mainly due to the synergistic effect between CuWO₄ and PMMA, which decrease the charge carrier (electron-hole) recombination rate. Superoxide and hydroxyl radicals played a major in the reaction which was confirmed in radical trapping experiments. This CPTF photocatalyst gives a new beginning for further research studies.

KEYWORDS:

• CPTF
• ciprofloxacin
• methylene blue
• photodegradation
• visible light

Acknowledgments

The author, M.T acknowledges Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education, Krishnankoil for providing research fellowship and necessary facilities.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).