A Novel CeO2/Cu2O/CuO Nanocomposite Designed from a CeAlCu Glass Precursor as an Excellent Dual Function Catalyst in Dye Wastewater Remediation

摘要

A novel dual functional CeO2/Cu2O/CuO nanocomposite was synthesized by a facile chemical method using Ce-based Ce-Al-Cu glass ribbons as a precursor. The nanocomposite can rapidly degrade azo dyes including orange II (OII), methyl orange (MO), and congo red (CR) under dark conditions with no chemical and energy input. Under visible light irradiation, the composite also showed high efficiency for the decomposition azo-free dyes such as methylene blue (MB) and rhodamine B (RhB). The excellent performances of the nanocomposite in both dark and light conditions are attributed to the synergistic effects of its composition and the nanoparticle structure that have large surface areas and contain many active sites, and to the formation of heterojunctions in the Ce/Cu Oxide. The high performance of this bi-functional catalyst made from industrially-prepared atomically homogenous amorphous metallic demonstrates the promise of high-performance catalysts based on multi-component metallic glass materials.