cuo/lafeo3 nanocomposite photocatalysts with superior fenton-like and visible light photocatalytic activities

A series of these novel cuo(x)/lafeo3 (x=0-100%) nanocomposite photocatalysts were successfully fabricated by the sol-gel method the obtained nanoparticles were characterized by several analysis techniques such as xrd, ft-ir, uv–vis drs, photoluminescence, tem and eds for identifying their structural, physical and optical characteristics the photocatalytic activities of cuo(x)/lafeo3 nanoparticles were examined by photodegradation of rhodamine b (rhb) under the visible light irradiation the most improvement was achieved in the photocatalytic activity of the cuo(50%)/lafeo3 nanocomposite compared to those of the pure lafeo3 and other composites it was interesting that addition of a low amount of h2o2 (05 ml) greatly improved the photocatalytic performance so that a 6ppm rhb was degraded only in dark (after 60 min without light illumination) and high concentration of rhb (30ppm) was removed after 90min furthermore, a 20ppm phenol contaminant was destroyed after 150min using the cuo(50%)/lafeo3 in presence of h2o2 these outstanding results could be ascribed to the simultaneous effects of the photocatalysis and fenton-like mechanism that enhanced the photocatalytic efficiency it was proposed that the non-toxic, inexpensive, highly active and stable cuo(50%)/lafeo3 nanocomposite photocatalyst have the potential to be used in practical industrial water treatment processes under the visible light illumination