Fabrication and characterization of Zn doped CuO nanofiber using newly designed nanofiber generator for the photodegradation of methylene blue from textile effluent

High aspect ratio, Zn doped copper oxide (Zn-CuO) nanofibers have been fabricated employing a newly designed electrospun coating unit using copper acetate, sodium hydroxide and polyethylene glycol in aqueous state. The prepared Zn doped copper oxide (Zn-CuO) nanofibers were sintered at 400 °C, 500 °C and 600 °C separately and characterized using X-ray diffraction XRD, Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy FT-IR, scanning electron microscopy SEM, energy dispersive spectroscopy EDS. The average crystallite size was in the range of 28 nm to 30 nm. Optical properties of Zn-CuO nanofibers were analyzed using UV-DRS studies which showed a blue shift in the absorption band. An increase in band gap with the increase in postannealing temperature was observed due to the blue shift in absorption edge of CuO causing enhanced photodegradation. The catalytic properties of the CuO nanofibers were tested using methylene blue in aqueous medium. The influences of parameters responsible for high photodegradation were optimized and the rate of the photodegradation process was calculated using photodegradation kinetics. The reusability test was conducted to find the stability of the fabricated Zn-CuO nanofibers.