Synthesis, Characterization and Photodegradation Studies of Copper Oxide–Graphene Nanocomposites

In this work, a simple hydrothermal method was employed to prepare pristine sample of copper oxide (CuO) and three samples oxide–graphene nanocomposites (CuO-xG) with x = 2.5, 5, 10 mg graphene. The synthesized were characterized using X-ray powder diffractometry (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDX), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) ultraviolet–visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy. XRD patterns CuO-xG exhibited the diffraction peaks related crystal planes monoclinic CuO hexagonal graphite. surface morphology prepared investigated FESEM images. EDX analysis used investigate chemical composition samples. FTIR identified vibrational modes covalent bonds present in allowed direct optical bandgap energy calculated for all UV-Vis absorption spectra. small indicates their potential use as an effective photocatalyst presence visible light. Photocatalytic activity explored degradation methylene blue (MB) dye contaminant under light irradiation. results showed that CuO-5G has highest photodegradation efficiency (~56%).