Anionic surfactant assisted copper hydroxide for toxic dye removal from wastewater

Wastewater treatment is the most important criteria that will deliberately reduce the water scarcity and to remove the organic pollutants from water. In this study, pure copper hydroxide (Cu(OH)₂), 1% sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) and 2% sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) assisted Cu(OH)₂ was prepared through co-precipitation technique. The prepared samples was investigated employing standard characterization studies. The X-Ray diffraction (XRD) pattern was confirmed with JCPDS card # 80-0656 with crystallite size of 25, 23 and 21 nm for pure Cu(OH)₂, 1% SDS and 2% SDS assisted Cu(OH)₂. The bandgap energy obtained for Cu(OH)₂, 1% SDS and 2% SDS assisted Cu(OH)₂ were 2.86 eV, 2.81 eV and 2.72 eV. The narrow bandgap of 2% SDS assisted Cu(OH)₂ enhanced the photocatalytic activity than other two samples. The formation of nanoclusters and nanosheets were confirmed with Scanning Electron Microscopic (SEM) analysis. The thick clumsy nanosheets are formed as large nanoclusters in pure Cu(OH)₂. Addition of SDS reduced the thickness of nanosheets and formed a little cluster. The prepared product photocatalytic performance was examined employing degradation of Methylene Blue (MB) dye. 2% SDS assisted Cu(OH)₂ added MB dye solution was completely degraded with 98% efficiency. The reduce in particle size, high recombination of electron-hole pair with narrow bandgap made the 2% SDS assisted Cu(OH)₂ candidate to give out potential output in eliminating the organic pollutants.