Copper oxide nanoparticle-coated quartz sand as a catalyst for degradation of an organic dye in water

Copper oxide nanoparticles were immobilized on quartz sand and their catalytic activity for the degradation of an organic dye was investigated. The use of nanoparticles as catalysts for non photo-induced oxidation of water contaminants is relatively new. The CuO catalyst has shown promising results when suspended in free form in batch systems. Because heterogeneous catalysis is often the preferred mode of operation for application of catalytic technology, we studied the effect of immobilization of the nanoparticles on quartz sand in a flow-through system and its implication for the catalytic process. The coated sand was packed in a column and its catalytic activity for the degradation of an organic dye was investigated in a series of flow-through experiments with hydrogen peroxide as the oxidant. Control experiments with uncoated sand were also performed for comparison. The coated sand demonstrated high catalytic ability, achieving complete oxidation of the dye. During the reaction, CO ₂ was produced, leading to a decrease in the water saturation in the column and reduced contact surface between the nano-CuO catalysts and the dye solution. The degradation was improved by enabling a longer residence time of the dye in the column, yielding up to 85% degradation of the dye. These results suggest that CuO nanoparticle-coated sand is an efficient catalyst for complete degradation of the organic dye.