Effect of copper salt on the synthesis of copper-doped gallium metal liquid based photocatalyst (Cu/Ga2O3), and its application in acetaminophen photodegradation
Sayra Orozco, Jaime Espino Valencia, Michel Rivero
Abstract
This work investigates the impact of two copper salts on the synthesis, crystal structure, morphology, and optical properties of copper-doped Gallium Liquid Metal (GLM)-based photocatalysts. Ga2O3 and Ga2O3‑copper ion doped were synthesized from nitrate and sulfate salts using GLM as the precursor by ultrasonic transducer. Characterization was done by TGA, XRD, XPS, SEM/EDS, ATR-FTIR, UV–Vis–NIR diffused reflectance and Zeta potential. We explore their application in photodegrading and mineralizing acetaminophen under different experimental conditions. Results show that salt significantly affects the physical-chemical and photocatalytic properties. Doping gallium oxides with copper leads to high levels of degradation (up to 80%) and mineralization.