Efficient solar light-driven degradation of Congo red with novel Cu-loaded FeO@TiO nanoparticles.

In this work, Cu-loaded FeO@TiO core shell nanoparticles were prepared in a single pot by coating of TiO on FeO nanoparticles followed by Cu loading. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Brunauer-Emmett- Teller (BET), vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and valence band X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (VB XPS) techniques were used for characterization of as prepared nanoparticles. Synergism between copper and titania was evaluated by studying the solar light-driven photodegradation of Congo red dye solution in the presence of FeO@TiO nanoparticles on one side and Cu-loaded FeO@TiO nanoparticles on the other side.