Synthesis of Cetyl Trimethyl Ammonium Bromide (CTAB) capped Copper Oxide Nano Cubes for the Remediation of Organic Pollutants using Photocatalysis and Catalysis.

The aim of this report is to synthesis copper oxide nanocubes (CuO NCs) at room temperature using sodium borohydride as a reducing and Cetyl Trimethyl Ammonium Bromide (CTAB) as a stabilizing agent. The crystallinity and morphology of synthesized CuO-NCs were revealed by x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and transmission electron microscope (TEM), respectively. The optical properties were carried out using UV-Visible absorbance and Raman spectroscopy. The existing functional groups and structural stability were obtained by FTIR spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Furthermore, the catalytic efficiency of as-prepared CuO-NCs was tested using catalytic and photocatalytic studies of para-nitrophenol (p-NP) and methylene blue (MB), respectively. The obtained catalytic results exhibited excellent catalytic and photocatalytic responses towards the abatement of p-NP and MB within 50 s and 240 min, with kinetic rate constants of 3.9×10-2 sec-1 and 6.47×10-3 min-1 respectively.