Simple, Low-Priced, of Single-Step, and Fast Method for Fabricating and Immobilizing a Commercially Viable Catalyst for the Removal of Azo-Dyes from Water

This work aimed to develop and optimize a simple and rapid method to fabricate a commercially viable catalyst for treating colored, organics-pregnant wastewater effluents for small and medium units requiring simplified fixed installations and medium-skilled labor. This work concentrated on the direct immobilization of CuO onto quartz sand. The crystallography features confirmed complete crystallization in the Tenorite phase. Tenorite grain size showed propagation with annealing temperatures (AT) and slower cooling rates (CR). The SEM confirmed their uniform spherical particles in the submicron range (400–600 nm). A thorough statistical analysis was conducted to infer the optimum synthesis conditions: AT ≈ 400 °C and CR: SC. The fabricated material has demonstrated promising and superior catalytic activity performance for removing organic pollutants. The dynamic optimization plot helped infer the optimum conditions yielding the highest % decolorizing, > 95%, as 0.5 g of 5400Aq catalyst, ≈ 2.0 mL of 3% H 2 O 2 , and pH: 2. The dye decays exponentially according to pseudo-first-order kinetics with a half-life time of 3.7 min in case of 5400Aq. The results suggest that the fabricated CuO-coated sand is an effective and commercially viable catalyst, simple, cost-effective, reliable, readily applicable and separable, efficient, enhanced process kinetic, and needs no irradiation.