Study of the adsorption and photocatalytic properties of copper oxide with different morphologies in removal of Cr(III) ion from aqueous media

Chromium Cr(III) is considered as a toxic pollutant in industrial wastewater. Photocatalytic processes can be used as an efficient method for the treatment of heavy metal wastewaters. This study was conducted to synthesize copper (II) oxide (CuO) with dendrite, leaf and feather morphologies. Synthesized CuO with dendrite and leaf morphologies were characterized by XRD, SEM, and BET/BJH and CuO with feather morphology by XRD, SEM, BET/BJH, FTIR, TEM and DRS techniques. Parameters such as morphology CuO, the contact time (h), and adsorbent dosage (g) in adsorption of Cr(III) and morphology CuO, pH and initial concentration of Cr(III) in the photocatalytic oxidation were investigated. The results demonstrate that CuO feather at 24 h contact time with 0.1 g adsorbent with an adsorption efficiency of 57.24% has the highest efficiency compared to CuO of dendrite and leaf. Oxidation results demonstrate that CuO feather at 2 h with 0.1 g adsorbent dosage and pH = 7 had 89.14% removal efficiency. Also, oxidation results demonstrate that CuO feather at 2 h with 0.1 g adsorbent dosage and pH = 8 had 99.99% removal efficiency, which indicates the high efficiency of the feather.