OXIDE NANO-MATERIALS FOR PHOTOCATALYSIS

APPLICATION
Abstract
This study has elucidated the role of “oxide nanoparticles” in facilitating efficient
“photocatalysis application”. The researcher has mainly focused on the performance efficiency
of Zinc Oxide (ZnO) in its pure form versus its performance when combined with Cupric Oxide
(CuO). The introductory chapter provided a background to the research and highlighted the key
aims and objectives. The chapter has also presented a set of research questions, implanting the
significance and purpose of the study. In the next chapter, the researcher has discussed the
primary objectives of this study in the form of literature review through secondary sources of
literature. The chapter also includes a theoretical framework and literature gaps. The
methodology chapter focused on different photocatalytic materials and highlighted the methods
for developing photocatalysts based on oxide nanoparticles. In “Results and Discussion”, the
researcher discussed the application of ZnO as a photocatalyst, followed by the concluding
chapter discussing the key findings. The research has highlighted that ZnO and CuO work as
more performance efficient photocatalysts when they are used as combined forces.
Keywords: Oxide nanoparticles, photocatalysis application, photocatalysis, electronic structure
Introduction
The study is going to shed light on the photocatalysis process and its realistic application. The
utilisation of oxide nanomaterials in the photocatalysis process and its impact on the whole
method are going to be illustrated in this study. This section will concentrate on the background
and purpose of the research. Moreover, the research questions, aims and objectives of the study
will be articulated here to make the report significant. The study will focus on analysing the
method of photocatalysis with oxide nanomaterials to identify the answers to the particular
research questions based on research objectives.

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As per the studies of Yaqoob et al. (2020), photocatalysts refer to those materials that influence
the rate of chemical reactions in the presence of light. Accordingly, the phenomenon related to a
photo-activated reaction occurring when photons come in direct contact with compounds with
free radical mechanisms and adequately high-energy levels is known as photocatalysis. The
process takes place in the presence of semiconductors and light. Besides this, the compound that
absorbs photons during photocatalysis is called a photocatalyst which is generally a
semiconductor (Ahmed et al. 2019). In this method, an electron-whole pair is produced when
semiconductor material comes into direct contact with light.

Figure 1: Photocatalysis process

(Source: Influenced by Yaqoob et al. 2020)
The gap of band (Eg) of a material classifies a compound into three groups: conductor,
semiconductor and insulator. The gap of energy between the conduction band and the valence
band for semiconductors lies between 1.5-3.2 eV. It has been identified that metal oxides have a
variety of applications in electronics and environmental fields for their superficial capacity to
carry charges in the direct touch of light. For instance, binary oxides such as titanium oxide
(TiO2), zinc oxide (ZnO), Ferric oxide (Fe2O3), and vanadium oxide (V2O5) work as strong
photocatalysts (Ikram et al. 2021). However, it has been discovered that the nanostructured films
of ZnO-CuO enhanced the photocatalytic outcomes compared to pure ZnO, as CuO accelerates

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the speed of the reaction as a positive catalyst (Zhu et al. 2018). Therefore, the study is going to
evaluate the wide-range application of oxide nanomaterial-based photocatalysis.
The aim of this study is to analyse “the impact of oxide nanomaterials in the photocatalysis
process and its application”
The study is going to compare different parameters (binding energy, intensity and photocatalytic
intensity) of the photocatalysis process by using CuO, ZnO, and a combination of CuO-ZnO as
catalyst compounds.
This report is going to assess the uses of ZnO and CuO in the photocatalysis process. The
performance efficiency, time, energy, absorbance, wavelength and binding energy of these
particular catalysts are going to be analysed to identify the best option for catalysts and enhance
outcomes. The applications of oxide nanomaterial-based photocatalysts are going to be
illustrated to recognise the areas of development and plausible effective recommendations on
those. The study is considered as significant as it focuses on improving the outcomes of
photocatalysis to compare different metal oxides as catalysts.
An overall outline of the study has been evaluated in the introduction chapter. The researcher has
evaluated the background and purposes of conducting the research on oxide nanomaterials in
photocatalysis applications. Moreover, the significance of the research has been justified to make
the study valid and relevant.

3
Literature review
Photocatalysis is defined as the oxidization and reduction reactions on the surfaces of the
photocatalyst materials in the valence band such as holes and conduction band such as electrons
produced in absorbing the UV-VIS light radiation. Photocatalyst activities depend on
nanostructured materials, nanoparticles, and other elements related to nanotechnology for
improving the properties of the materials such as catalysts, increment of strength, tunable photo
activity, and other characteristics in the production process. The utilization of catalysts assists to
speed up chemical reactions in the presence of UV lights and constructing electron pairs of holes
in the chemical transformation of nanomaterials. In this section, an in-depth discussion about the
influences of the oxide nano-materials in the photocatalysis process and their application is
briefly discussed effectively.
Use of oxide nanomaterials in the photocatalysis process
The photocatalysis process is utilizing semiconductor nanoparticles due to their catalytic
application and a wide band that helps to determine the band gap in the visible region for
developing its application. This factor highlights that metal oxides such as CuO and ZnO assist
in decomposing the toxic organic compounds to develop an eco-friendly approach in the
industrial process (Nasr et al. 2018). This photocatalysis process helps to promote an effective
and efficient degradation process of pollutants by enhancing the chemical reaction of oxide
nanomaterials in the working process. The oxide nanomaterials are used as the decoloring agent
in the degradation process of the organic pollutants that develops the treatment process of
wastewater emission. This application of nanomaterials is acted as the charge transport that
influences its light absorption properties for promoting the photocatalyst process effectively.
This factor guides to enhance the efficiency in detecting various chemical hazards such as
ammonium hydroxide, acetone, formaldehyde, chloroform, and more.

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 Figure 2: Usage of oxide nanomaterials in photocatalysis process
(Source: Parashar et al. 2020)
It has been seen that the low dimension of metal oxide nanomaterials assists to improve sensitive
transduction in surface interactions in changing the electrochemical properties in the
photocatalysis process. This factor guides in organizing the photocatalysis activities for the
removal and detection of hazardous compounds in the chemical reaction that is used in the
filtration process of water by utilizing semi-conducting metal oxides (SCMO). The usage of
SCMO allows for cleaning and monitoring the toxic chemical compounds in the photocatalysis
process that promotes sensing in the chemical, gas, and biosensors forms efficiently (Basnet et
al. 2018). The SCMO wavelengths assist in the excitation of the electron in the chemical reaction
process that guides to react with organic pollutants and allows to completion of the
mineralization process. This factor assists to understand the oxidation potential of hydroxyl
radicals and the reduction of superoxide radicals in the band gap that promotes the generation of
OH- radicals in the reaction process.
Application of the CuO- ZnO-based photocatalysis process
The usage of the CuO- ZnO nanomaterials assists to develop the extraction process of desirable
catalysts from the materials for promoting the elimination process of organic pollutants. This
factor helps the photocatalysis process to promote self-cleaning surfaces, air, and water
purification system, sterilization process, photoelectrochemical conversion, and more. The self-
cleaning surface utilizes the metal oxide semiconductors in the sol-gel spin coating method that
uses UV irradiation in breaking down the pollutants effectively (Moghaddas et al. 2020). The

5
development of the photocatalysis activities of CuO and ZnO assists to develop the separation
process of charge carries in the construction of heterostructure for measuring the decomposition
of “octadecanoic acid”. This decomposition process helps to modify the changes in the contact
angle values of the oxide nanomaterials used in promoting the self-cleaning process of organic
pollutants in the chemical reaction. The water purification process assists to develop membrane
filtration and eliminates the excess amount of cations and anions in removing pollutants from the
wastewater.

Figure 3: Usage of CuO- ZnO-based photocatalysis process

(Source: Singh et al. 2019)
The development of the water purification process involves CuO and ZnO nanomaterials for the
organic and inorganic pollutants oxidation in the industrial efferent in promoting the oxidization
process in water purification. The air purification activities apply the CuO and ZnO
nanomaterials in the photocatalysis process for reducing the negative impact of air pollutants and
eliminating harmful materials in developing air purification technology. This factor reflects that
interface regulation in the photocatalytic processes assists in reforming the air pollutants by
utilizing denitrification and desulfurization activities with help of the chemical reaction of oxide
nanomaterials. In the sterilization process, the application of oxide nanomaterials assists to
develop the disinfection process of soil surfaces, air, and water that reflects the antibacterial
ability of CuO and ZnO in the disinfection mechanism. This factor guides for modifying the
hydrothermal method and the coating process on UV-lamp in the sterilization process of the soil
surface, air, and water (Madubuonu et al. 2019). This modification process assists to maintain
the reacting hydroxyls on the surfaces and subsurface in the photocatalysis process. The
photoelectrochemical conversion uses a photocatalysis process for resolving energy crisis issues
with the help of sunlight energy in the catalysis production process.
6
Comparison of different photocatalysts in terms of performing
The photocatalysis process uses ZnO nanomaterials because of their enhanced area of surface,
flexibility, optical properties, and organic pollutants degradation and developing the efficiency of
antimicrobial properly. This nanomaterial is identified as the typical n-type semiconductor
having band gap of 3.37 eV that enhances the photocatalytic properties in developing the
electronic coupling in the degradation process (Sahu et al. 2020). The usage of ZnO develops the
photocatalysts' activities by implementing scanning electron spectroscopy, field emission, and
elemental detection spectroscopy in developing the sterilization processes of air, water, and soil
surfaces. This factor assists to develop the biomedical, sensors, coating, textiles, energy
conversion devices, and more by enhancing the photocatalysis activities of ZnO. The
development of photocatalytic degradation applies ZnO for prompting the efficiency in treating
the contaminants of air and water by enhancing the chemical reaction in the photocatalysis
process.
The usage of CuO and ZnO nanomaterials in the photocatalysis process assists to develop the
synthesized process with the help of a facile wet chemical route in the process of degradation of
organic pollutants. This factor helps to promote the performance of CuO and ZnO photocatalysts
by improving the utilization of sunlight and p-n nano heterojunctions in reducing the toxic
chemical compounds for soil surface, water, and air efficiently (Oliveira et al. 2020). The
application of these photocatalysts also participates in the degrading process of 4-nitrophenol and
organic dyes that are produced in the industrial process. This combination of photocatalysts
helps to get the advantages of short reaction time, thermal transmission low reaction temperature,
that enhance the efficiency of the disinfection process.
Strategies for developing the photocatalysis application with the help of oxidizing
nanomaterials
The advanced oxidation process is defined as the method that utilizes oxidizing agents such as
hydroxyl radicals (OH-), superoxide radical (O2-), and sulfate radicals (SO4-) in the degradation
process of inorganic and organic matters of air, water, and soil surface. This factor promotes the
deficient process by developing the production of pathogen disinfection and minimizing the
pollutants by forming intermediates and producing less toxic materials in developing the
photocatalysis process (Naseem and Durrani, 2021). The construction of graphene oxide
integrated semiconductors nanomaterials assists to reduce the complexity of the chemical

7
reaction process and improving the photocatalytic performance in reducing the negative impact
of pollutants. The identification of each oxide nanomaterial bandgap range allows for
determining the visible light active materials that shorten the reaction time in the photocatalysis
application process. The utilization of semiconductor nanomaterials helps to develop the
heterojunction of the metals in capturing the photoinduced electron that allows for reducing the
recombination process of electron holes.
The usage of titanium dioxide (TiO2) helps to get a fast response in low light and enhances the
efficiency of the photocatalysis process having band gap of 3.0-3.2 eV. This factor prompts the
low usage of energy by utilizing UV light absorption in enhancing organic pollutants degradation
for both air and water (Nagajyothi et al. 2020). The decrement in the gap of band of the
semiconductors assists to create defects in the nanomaterials by the usage of electron beans for
developing the photocatalysis application in decreasing the pollutants of water and air. The
water-spitting process is using solar energy to promote artificial photosynthesis for developing
the chemical reaction in the oxide nanomaterials in enhancing the photocatalysis application.
Theoretical underpinning
The water-splitting process is defined as the method for converting water into the form of
hydrogen and oxygen by implementing the direct decomposition process for developing the
usage of electrical, thermal, and light resources. This process assists to increases the efficiency of
the organic semiconductor photocatalysts to improve the tunable light absorption of the oxide
nanomaterials effectively (Lardhi et al. 2020). This factor helps to increase the efficiency of the
photocatalysis of the oxide nanomaterials for developing the sterilization process of the soil
surface, water, and air efficiently. The sterilization process allows in promoting the degradation
process of toxic materials in the chemical reaction of photocatalysts in enhancing the elimination
of organic and inorganic matter of pollutants.
Literature gap
The previous literature discussed the influence of oxide nanomaterials in the photocatalysis
process and the efficiency of the degradation process of eliminating toxic elements from soil
surfaces, air, and water. However, this study did not focus on the other oxide nanomaterials such
as titanium, bismuth ferrite, and other metal oxides impact on the photocatalysis process. Here, it
is the literature gap of this study.

8
Chapter Summary
From the above discussion, it can be seen that the photocatalysis process uses different
semiconductor nanomaterials for developing efficiency in the environmental contaminants by
enhancing the photocatalysis degeneration process. This factor assists to lead the new pathway
for developing the performance of the photocatalysts such as CuO and ZnO in disinfecting the
soil surfaces, water, and air by removing the toxic elements.

9
Method and materials
The methodology section is going to focus on materials used for photocatalysis and methods
used for preparing oxide nanoparticle-based catalysts. The most commonly used methods for
preparing nanoparticles of metal oxides are going to be evaluated here; however, the study is
going to mainly focus on ZnO photocatalytic paper and films. Concerning mechanisms and
techniques related to photocatalysis will be discussed here.
Materials
Metal oxide materials can be classified into transition and non-transition materials depending on
the energy differences between a cation d^n and either a d^(n+1) or d^(n−1) configuration. It has
been observed that metal oxides having d^0 or d^10 electronic configuration show stability while
some of the pre-transition metal can be inert due to large band gaps and lack of electrons and
holes. Therefore, transition metal oxides (d^0) and post-transition metal oxides (d^10) are
considered the best photocatalysts in terms of decomposition and degradation performance in the
exposure of light. For instance, TiO2 and V2O5 are “transition metal oxides” with a d^0
configuration while SnO2, CuO, and ZnO are examples of ‘post-transition” metal oxides with
d^10 composition. However, this study focuses on the use of ZnO and CuO as photocatalysts.
These metal oxides are commonly used in the form of thin films and papers as active
photocatalysts to enhance their performance in decomposition.
Mechanism
The free radical mechanism is followed in the process of photocatalysis where electrons at high
energy freely react with photons to create holes in direct contact with light. The steps include in
the photocatalysis mechanism include:
● Formation of change in the catalyst by absorbing photons from light
● Recombination of charge carrier in catalysts
● Trapping conduction band electrons
● Trapping valence-band holes at the surficial group.
● Initiation of oxidative degradation.
ZnO is considered a fundamental catalyst due to its wide “brand gap width” of 3.37 eV, strong
binding energy of 60 m and deep light (UV) absorption rate at normal room temperature.
Methods and techniques used in photocatalysis
Methods used for preparing oxide nanomaterials applied in the photocatalysis process:

10
Direct precipitation
This method is used to prepare the nano-particles of metal oxides including thin film and paper
which are effective as catalysts in the photocatalysis process. This process includes the
precipitation of metal oxides from a salt precursor in the form of a hydroxide alongside a base as
a solvent. It is important to control the release of cations and anions to regulate the process of
growth kinetics and nucleation. It helps in synthesising nano-dispersed nanomaterials.
Sol-gel method
As per Pant, Park and Park (2019), the sol-gel method is a wet chemical technique used for
synthesising different nanoparticles, especially the nanomaterials of metal oxide. A metal
alkoxide (molecular precursor) has been used in dissolved alcohol or water and converted to gel
through alcoholysis or hydrolysis (heating and stirring).

Figure 4: Sol-gel method

(Source: Influenced by Pant, Park and Park, 2019)

Solvothermal and hydrothermal synthesis

This technique is utilised for synthesising nanomaterials of metal oxides of different sizes and
shapes (Zaman, Chandel and Poolla, 2019). A sealed space such as an autoclave is used at a
temperature of 80–260°C with controlled pressure with the presence of a suitable solvent to
prepare nanomaterial.

11
 Figure 5: Hydrothermal synthesis
(Source: Influenced by Zaman, Chandel and Poolla, 2019)
Chemical bath deposition
It is also known as chemical solution deposition where solid forms from a gas or solution
through thin-film deposition by using an “aqueous precursor solution”. The nanoparticle film is
formed in the “chemical bath deposition” method by using heterogeneous nuclearisation to
prepare homogenous thin films of metal oxides (Ahmed, Rabia and Shaban, 2020).

12
 Figure 6: Chemical bath deposition
(Source: Influenced by Ahmed, Rabia and Shaban, 2020)
Electrospinning
It includes an electrohydrodynamic procedure where a liquid droplet is used to generate a jet
with the help of electrification (Xue et al. 2019). After the process of electrification stretching
and elongation are used to generate nanomaterial fibres.

13
 Figure 7: Electrospinning
(Source: Influenced by Xue et al. 2019)
Magnetron sputtering
This high-rate vacuum coating technique allows the synthesis of metal and metal oxides by the
use of an especially-designed magnetic field subjected to a “diode sputtering target” (Garattoni,
2019). This method helps in the synthesis of macro particles of photocatalysts.
Electrodeposition
This method focuses on the controlled deposition of metal oxides on the conducting surfaces by
using electricity from a solution which contains ionic species (Walsh, Wang and Zhou, 2020).
This technique is extensively used for fabricating binder-free thin film or paper of oxide
materials.

14
 Figure 8: Electrodeposition
(Source: Influenced by Walsh, Wang and Zhou, 2020)
Microwave synthesis
This synthesis method is based on the aligning dipoles of the metal oxides in the external field
through the excitation generated by electromagnetic microwave radiation (Wojnarowicz,
Chudoba and Lojkowski, 2020). It is generally executed in combination with a fundamental
synthesis technique.

15
 Figure 9: Electrodeposition
(Source: Developed by the learner)
Summary
The methodology section has focused on the material used in the photocatalysis process however
the study mainly focuses on ZnO and CuO as catalysts. The mechanism followed in the
photocatalysis procedure has been evaluated here. Furthermore, all the important techniques and
methods used in the nanomaterial synthesis of metal oxides have been briefly described in this
chapter.

16
Result and discussion
This chapter will shed light on the outcomes of photocatalysis by using ZnO as a catalyst. A
detailed comparison analysis is going to be conducted to interpret all the important demographics
of CuO, and ZnO as photocatalysts along with necessary data with graphical representation. The
best option as a photocatalyst in terms of outcomes will be identified along with the applications
of photocatalysis.
The Advantages of using ZnO in photocatalysis
ZnO (Zinc Oxide) has been considered one of the promising post-tarnation photocatalysts in
terms of environmental remediation. According to the result of the scientific report, ZnO is
considered to show greater efficiency in the process of photocatalytic degradation compared to
organic catalysts such as TiO2, Rhodamine 6G and methyl orange (PUBS, 2022). It has been
recognised that ZnO has “high surface reactivity” due to the “active surface defect states”. In
addition, zinc oxide pursues a strong chemical ability, oxidation ability, extreme photocatalytic
ability, and “free-exciton binding energy”; thus the emission process of ZnO can be maintained
comfortably at normal temperature or above. As suggested by Nunes et al. (2021), ZnO consists
of specific characteristics that make it highly preferable and approachable in photocatalysis
which are as follows:
● Non-toxic in nature
● Earth-abundant capacity
● Biodegradable, biocompatible and environment-friendly nature
● Compatibility with simple methods for chemical synthesis
● Availability at low-cost.
On the other hand, the wide band gap of ZnO limits the ability to absorb light of region that is
visible and it is associated with accelerated recombination of photocatalytic charges. However, it
leads to reduced efficiency as a photocatalyst. Zinc oxide is considered a semiconductor that is
“n-type” and it has a direct “band energy gap” of 3.37 eV (Nunes et al. 2021).

17
 Figure 10: ZnO structure
(Source: Influenced by Nunes et al. 2021)
It has been observed that ZnO is most commonly found in wurtzite crystal form at normal
temperature with the largest thermodynamic stability. This structure has a space group P63mc
and lattice diagonals: 0.3296 nanometers (a), and 0.52065 nanometers (b) with a hexagonal
shape (Nunes et al. 2021). The atoms of ZnO (Zn and O) are situated alternatively alongside the
three-folded c-axis in the hexagonal structure. Therefore, the compound of zinc oxide exhibits a
“positive polar plane” that is rich in Zn++ ions whereas the negative plane comprises oxide ions.
Every zinc ion is surrounded by four oxide ions as neighbours in a tetrahedral shape and vice
versa. As per the studies of Nunes et al. (2021), this tetrahedral sp3 “covalent bonding” provides
a strong polar symmetry across the hexagonal axis of ZnO. This characteristic of polarisation
accelerates the crystal growth of oxide nanomaterial and improves the light absorption rate as
well as degradation ability as a photocatalyst.
Comparing the efficiency of ZnO, CuO, and the combination of ZnO-CuO
It has been already discussed in the above section that zinc oxide is used as one of the most
preferable catalysts in the photocatalysis process. However, the combination of ZnO-CuO has

18
sometimes proven to be more effective compared to pure ZnO as a photocatalyst (Zainul, Effendi
and Mashuri, 2019). This section is going to analyse their efficiency as catalysts with the help of
relevant properties and parameters.

Figure 11: Comparison of the band energy gap

(Source: Created by the learner)
The comparison of the “band gap energy” has been portrayed in figure 4.2.1. It has been
identified from the graphical representation that the energy gap is highest in pure zinc oxide
(3.12 eV). Accordingly, the values of the “band energy gap” for CuO and the combination of
CuO/ZnO have come to 1.93 and 2.85 eV respectively. It is important to have a “band gap
energy” of less than 3 eV to become efficient in absorbing visible solar light (Xie, Li and Xu,
2018). Thus, it can be interpreted that the combination of CuO-ZnO is more effective in sunlight
than pure ZnO.

19
 Figure 12: Comparison of binding energy
(Source: Developed by the researcher)
The binding energy of CuO limits up to 953.8 eV which is higher than the binding energy (933.9
eV) of the combination of CuO-ZnO at the same intensity. It reflects that the binding energy of
pure Cuo is greater than the mix of CuO/ZnO.

20
 Figure 13: “Comparison of binding energy”
(Source: Created by the researcher)
It can be recognised from figure 4.2.3 that the binding energy of pure zinc oxide is 1021 eV
while the value goes up to 1044.1 eV for the “combination of ZnO-CuO” at the same intensity.
Therefore, the binding energy appears larger in the case of the ZnO/CuO combination.

21
 Figure 14: “Comparison of binding energy”
(Source: Created by the researcher)
The binding energy range of the aforementioned photocatalyst options can be arranged in an
ascending sequence from figure 4.2.4. The ascending order of photocatalysts based on the
binding energy can be written as ZnO < ZnO-CuO < CuO.

22
 Figure 15: Comparison of Time-efficiency graph
(Source: Created by the learner)
It has been identified from the above figure that the “ZnO-CuO combination” is the most
efficient along with time as a photocatalyst followed by pure ZnO and pure CuO respectively.

23
 Figure 16: Comparison of wavelength-intensity
(Source: Developed by the researcher)
The pure CuO has a wavelength of 401 nm while the wavelength for both the pure ZnO and “mix
of Zno-CuO” is 412 nm. However, CuO-ZnO exhibits the lowest intensity among the three
specific options.

24
 Figure 17: Comparison of Degree-intensity
(Source: Created by the learner)
This graph indicates that the degree of efficiency in the case of ZnO-CuO is greater than pure
ZnO and pure CuO respectively (ZnO/CuO > ZnO > CuO).
Different applications of ZnO as a photocatalyst
Photocatalysts are used through multiple applications that include:
● Antifouling agent
● Sterilisation process
● Energy storage and conservation
● Antifogging agent
● Deodorization process
● Decomposition and degradation
● Self-cleaning agent
● Wastewater treatment
● Air purification

25
Summary
The reasons behind preferring ZnO as a photocatalyst over other available options have been
discussed here. A comparison has been made among CuO, ZnO, and the “CuO/ZnO
combination” to identify the best catalyst according to specific parameters and efficiency.
Moreover, different applications of photocatalysts have been mentioned in this chapter.
Conclusion and recommendation
The current study has explored the roles of different nanomaterials for photocatalysis, mainly
focusing on Zinc oxide (ZnO). As identified from this research, photocatalysis helps scientists to
accelerate chemical reactions by engaging with light. The study has mainly focused on the role
of ZnO as a photocatalyst and its advantages over other nanomaterials. The catalytic ability of
different materials has significantly improved with the introduction of nanoparticles in
photocatalysis. Likewise, the researcher assessed the efficiency of ZnO and Cupric Oxide (CuO)
as efficient photocatalysts. In this regard, the researcher evaluated the properties of ZnO and
CuO as individual and combined forces of photocatalysis. It has been identified that a
combination of ZnO and CuO increases the performance efficiency of photocatalysis rather than
ZnO in its pure form. This is because the ZnO/CuO composite absorbs visible light more
effectively and results in a better dissociation of photogenerated electrons.
Photocatalysts can be used on a wide scale for air purification to reduce the rate of air pollution
globally. Besides this, metal oxides can also be used for the purification of water in wastewater
treatment plants. The uses of catalysts in biodegradation can be used for developing
environmental aspects as well. The utilisation of “ZnO/CuO” is more effective than pure ZnO in
terms of photocatalytic efficiency. Thus, in all the realistic applications of photocatalysis, ZnO
needs to be replaced with the “combination of ZnO-CuO”.

26
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