Currently, nanoparticles are regarded as excellent materials for degrading and removing dyes due to their beneficial surface features and chemical reactivity. Herein, Cu doped ZnO (CZ) was co-doped with Fe (FCZ) at different concentrations (2, 3, 4 and 8 wt% with respect to CZ) via simple one-step co-precipitation approach. The structural, surface morphology, surface properties, optical and photocatalytic performance of prepared samples were studied. Due to the doping of Fe, the band gap of CZ reduced from 2.7 eV to 2.29 eV, which is beneficial for absorbing visible light. Among doped CZs, 4 wt% Fe-doped CZ (4FCZ) exhibited 97.1% methylene blue (MB) degradation at neutral pH under 60 min of sunlight exposure. Furthermore, the effect of initial concentration of dye, catalyst load, and pH on the degradation process was investigated. The remarkable photocatalytic activity of 4FCZ nanoparticles can be attributed to their advantageous surface properties, such as their high specific surface area, heterostructure morphology, and mesoporous nature. Scavenger study identified O, e, and h as main reactive species. Pseudo-first order kinetics revealed degradation order: 4FCZ>8FCZ>3FCZ>2FCZ>CZ. 4FCZ showed recyclability with 90.9% MB degradation after three cycles. Mineralization of MB was analysed by COD and LC-MS studies. Fe-doped CZ emerges as a promising, cost-effective wastewater treatment under sunlight without special equipment. This study provides new insights on synthesis of ternary nanocatalyst for dye degradation.

中文翻译：

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三元 Fe 掺杂 Cu-ZnO 纳米催化剂的简便一锅法合成：一种高效且可回收的太阳能光驱动光催化剂

目前，纳米颗粒由于其有益的表面特征和化学反应性而被认为是降解和去除染料的优异材料。在此，通过简单的一步共沉淀方法，将 Cu 掺杂的 ZnO (CZ) 与不同浓度的 Fe (FCZ) 共掺杂（相对于 CZ 为 2、3、4 和 8 wt%）。研究了所制备样品的结构、表面形貌、表面性能、光学和光催化性能。由于Fe的掺杂，CZ的带隙从2.7 eV减小到2.29 eV，有利于吸收可见光。在掺杂 CZ 中，4 wt% Fe 掺杂 CZ (4FCZ) 在中性 pH 值下，在阳光照射 60 分钟下，亚甲蓝 (MB) 降解率为 97.1%。此外，还研究了染料初始浓度、催化剂负载量和pH值对降解过程的影响。 4FCZ纳米颗粒的显着光催化活性可归因于其有利的表面特性，例如高比表面积、异质结构形态和介孔性质。清除剂研究确定 O、e 和 h 为主要活性物质。准一级动力学显示降解顺序：4FCZ>8FCZ>3FCZ>2FCZ>CZ。 4FCZ 显示出可回收性，三个循环后 MB 降解率为 90.9%。 MB 的矿化通过 COD 和 LC-MS 研究进行分析。掺铁 CZ 是一种有前景、经济高效的阳光下废水处理方法，无需特殊设备。该研究为染料降解三元纳米催化剂的合成提供了新的见解。