Cellulose Acetate-Stabilized Cu₂O Nanoparticles for Enhanced Catalytic Reduction of Organic Pollutants

This study examines the potential of catalytic reduction for the removal of specific pollutants in aqueous solutions using copper(I) oxide nanoparticles supported on cellulose acetate as a biosupport (Cu₂O NP-CA). The Cu₂O NPs were deposited onto cellulose acetate (CA) under ambient conditions in the presence of hydrazine, which served as the reducing agent. The resulting catalyst was subjected to comprehensive characterization employing a range of techniques, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-Transform Infrared (FTIR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses. The Cu₂O NP-CA was evaluated as a catalyst for the catalytic reduction of organic pollutants (p-nitrophenol (PNP) and methylene blue (MB)) in a simple and binary system in the presence of NaBH₄. The results of the catalytic tests in PNP and MB solutions demonstrate that the elimination efficiency is influenced by a multitude of factors, including the catalyst dose and the concentration of the pollutant. The Cu₂O NPs-CA catalyst demonstrated remarkable catalytic efficacy for the reduction of PNP and MB pollutants, exhibiting maximum apparent rate constants (k_app) of 0.5100 min⁻¹ and 0.2378 min⁻¹, respectively. The Cu₂O NP-CA catalyst was evaluated on a mixture of PNP/MB pollutants, and the results demonstrated that it exhibited the highest catalytic activity for reducing and degrading these organic pollutants in aqueous solutions, which is a promising outcome. Furthermore, the prepared catalyst exhibited excellent catalytic performance and the ability to be recycled multiple times without significantly losing activity, which could be advantageous for large-scale production and practical usage in water treatment.