Synergistic effect of sono-photocatalytic process for the degradation of organic pollutants using CuO-TiO2/rGO.

Combinations of different Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) are being exploited for waste water treatment. The usage of ultrasound in photocatalysis finds much attention as the combined process offers some advantages over individual processes. Herein, we report the ultrasound assisted photocatalytic degradation of an organic pollutant (methyl orange as a model dye) in the presence of CuO-TiO2/rGO photocatalyst which was prepared by a simple wet impregnation method. A synergistic effect (3.7-fold) was observed by combining the sonolysis and photocatalysis processes. Influence of Cu loading and graphene oxide (GO) dosage over the photocatalytic performance of TiO2 was examined in detail. The catalyst dosage and initial concentration of MO were optimized based on a series of experimental studies. Besides, neutral pH was found to show an optimum efficiency for this sono-photocatalytic process.