The photocatalytic activity of fluorine (F) doped CuO nanoparticles (NPs) prepared employing modified sol–gel process was investigated here in this study. Structural and elemental characterization using XRD and XPS data confirmed successful incorporation of F as dopant. F doping led to lattice distortion and reduced crystallinity with smaller crystallite size while promoting the emergence of Cu₂O as the second phase. Morphological analysis showed irregularly shaped, fused particles with a decreasing particle size trend upon doping. Addition of hydrogen peroxide generated hydroxyl radicals (OH˙) under ultra-violet (UV) light, which effectively degrades pollutants by facilitating the photocatalytic kinetics. Photocatalytic activity of all the nanoparticles was examined against Rhodamine B (Rh B) dye and most efficient degradation (97.78%) was observed for 3 mol% F dopant concentration. The emergence of Cu₂O phase for doping beyond 1 mol% F doped CuO might be the prime reason to enhance its degradation performance. Conversely, 5 mol% doping caused notable phase changes and decreased degradation rate (88.05%) due to increased recombination rate in presence of metallic copper. The ability of F doped CuO nanoparticles to disintegrate organic contaminants by producing reactive oxygen species when exposed to UV light suggests their potential effectiveness in applications such as dye degradation, water purification, and environmental sustainability.

中文翻译：

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第二相 Cu2O 提高了氟掺杂 CuO 纳米粒子的光催化活性

本研究研究了采用改进的溶胶-凝胶工艺制备的氟 (F) 掺杂 CuO 纳米颗粒 (NP) 的光催化活性。使用 XRD 和 XPS 数据进行的结构和元素表征证实了 F 作为掺杂剂的成功掺入。 F掺杂导致晶格畸变，结晶度降低，晶粒尺寸变小，同时促进第二相Cu ₂ O的出现。形态分析显示，形状不规则的熔融颗粒在掺杂后具有减小颗粒尺寸的趋势。添加过氧化氢在紫外 (UV) 光下产生羟基自由基 (OH˙)，通过促进光催化动力学有效降解污染物。针对罗丹明 B (Rh B) 染料检查了所有纳米粒子的光催化活性，并在 3 mol% F 掺杂剂浓度下观察到最有效的降解 (97.78%)。掺杂超过 1 mol% F 掺杂 CuO 时出现的 Cu ₂ O 相可能是增强其降解性能的主要原因。相反，5 mol% 掺杂会引起显着的相变，并由于金属铜存在下复合率增加而降低降解率 (88.05%)。掺氟 CuO 纳米颗粒在暴露于紫外线时能够通过产生活性氧来分解有机污染物，这表明它们在染料降解、水净化和环境可持续性等应用中具有潜在的有效性。