Novel solution combustion synthesis of CeO2/CuO nanocomposite for photocatalytic and biological applications

• Main Authors: Khyrun, S. M. Fathima, Christy, A. Jegatha, Usha, R., Nehru, L. C., Suresh, Sagadevan
• Format: Article
• Published: Elsevier 2023
• Subjects: RE Ophthalmology; TS Manufactures
• Online Access: http://eprints.um.edu.my/38302/

In this study, CeO2/CuO nanocomposite (NC) were prepared by the novel solution combustion technique using urea as a fuel. The as-synthesized materials were characterized by XRD, FT-IR, UV-Vis spectroscopy, and PL. The surface morphology and the elemental composition of the CeO2/CuO NC were investigated by FE-SEM and EDAX respectively. The powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns confirm the cubic and monoclinic phases for CeO2 and CuO. The average crystallite sizes were calculated to be 5.16 nm, 13.87 nm, and 10.36 nm for CeO2, CuO, and CeO2/CuO NC respectively. The FTIR analysis confirmed the existence of metal-oxygen stretching and other bonds present in the prepared samples. The band gap values were determined to be 2.43 eV, 3.02 eV, and 1.87 eV for CeO2, CuO, and CeO2/CuO NC respectively. The various emission peaks from the photoluminescence spectra correspond to UV emission attributed to the recombination of electron-hole pairs in free excitons.FE-SEM images of the synthesized CeO2/CuO NC showed a roughly stacked and clustered surface morphology. EDAX spectrum confirmed the presence of Ce, Cu, and O in the synthesized CeO2/CuO NC. The antimicrobial assay showed significant toxicity against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. The photocatalytic activity of the assynthesized CeO2/CuO NC was investigated by photodegradation of the organic dye methylene blue under visible light irradiation.