An Enhanced Optical Response and Interfacial Charge Separation Of rGO Supported Cu²⁺ Doped Co₃O₄ Heterojunction For Photo‐Fenton‐Like Activity

AbstractIn recent years, clean water and increasing the usage of renewable energy have been the two main goals to be focused on in developing a sustainable living environment. These goals can also be fulfilled by using photocatalytic processes which is a promising direction, photocatalyst is quite effective for water purification and sustainable energy resources. For the first time, we report a visible‐light‐driven photocatalyst of rGO/Cu−Co3O4 nanocomposite for photo‐Fenton‐like degradation activity. The structural, morphological, surface chemical and optical properties of the samples were deeply analysed. The Cu2+ replacement reduces the crystalline size of the Co3O4 nanoparticle and rGO addition enhances the active surface area and charge mobility towards the better catalytic activity. The effect of operating parameters such as pH, catalyst dose, dye concentration, and H2O2 was also investigated for methylene blue (MB) dye degradation: kinetic studies, active radicals finding, and percentage of total organic carbon removal were also discussed in detail.