Room temperature processed copper phthalocyanine nanorods: A potential sonophotocatalyst for textile dye removal

Abstract Efficient ultrasound assisted visible photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B with the chemically synthesized copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) nanorods at room temperature is reported. In order to get structural, morphological, and optical information, different characterization techniques are employed here. The characterization results indicate the formation of highly crystalline pure CuPc nanorods. Comparative studies for dye degradation of sono, photo and sonophotocatalysis are performed in this report. As a typical result, 81 % removal of organic pollutant is achieved by sonophotocatalysis within 60 min, whereas by sonocatalysis and visible photocatalysis, only 56.8 % and 22.8 % degradation efficiency are achieved respectively under the same experimental conditions. Ultrasound irradiation combined with visible light in sonophotocatalysis may produces synergistic effect that plays an important role, resulting in superior dye degradation performance. The plausible reaction mechanism is thoroughly discussed in this study. The influences of initial dye concentration, catalyst dosage, scavenger and enhancer on decolorization efficiency are also investigated.