Graphene wrapped Copper Phthalocyanine nanotube: Enhanced photocatalytic activity for industrial waste water treatment

• DOI: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2017.01.222
• Publication Date: 2017-01-23T14:31:40Z
• Authors: Moumita Mukherjee; Uttam Kumar Ghorai; Madhupriya Samanta; Angshuman Santra; Gour P. Das; Kalyan K. Chattop...
• Keywords: Photodegradation; Rhodamine B

Abstract To improve the photocatalytic performance of metal phthalocyanine based catalyst, Copper Phthalocyanine (CuPc) functionalized reduced graphene oxide (RGO) nanocomposite has been synthesized through a simple chemical approach. The obtained product was characterized by X-ray diffraction technique (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV–vis) and High resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The photocatalytic activity of the RGO/CuPc nanocomposite was performed by the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) under visible light irradiation. The photocatalytic studies revealed that the RGO/CuPc nanocomposite exhibits much stronger catalytic behavior than the pristine CuPc nanotube. A plausible mechanism for the photodegradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) was suggested. The RGO wrapped CuPc nanotube composite materials offer great potential as active photocatalysts for degradation of organic pollutions in industrial waste water.