Photocatalytic degradation of chlortetracycline hydrochloride in marine aquaculture wastewater under visible light irradiation with CuO/ZnO

Abstract A CuO/ZnO photocatalyst nanocomposite was successfully prepared by co-precipitation and characterized by investigating its chemical and physical properties by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The average particle size of CuO/ZnO composite was found to be around 80 nm. The degradation of chlortetracycline hydrochloride pollutants in marine aquaculture wastewater using ZnO and CuO/ZnO was compared and it was found that CuO/ZnO nanocomposite is more efficient than ZnO. The effects of external factors on the photocatalytic effectiveness of nanocomposite were investigated under visible light. Also, the photocatalytic conditions for the degradation of chlortetracycline hydrochloride by the nanocomposite were optimized. Based on both ability and efficiency of degradation, and on the cost and availability, 10:2 molar ratio of Zn2+/Cu2+ and 0.7 g/L nanocomposite, was found to be optimal, in which case the average photocatalytic degradation rate of chlortetracycline hydrochloride reached 91.10%.