Novel synthesis and characterization of CuO - MWCNTs nanofibrous membrane for wastewater treatment

This paper showcases the development of CuO nanoparticles (CuO NPs) deocrated on the surface of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in polymer nanofiber structure. Both pulsed laser ablation and electrospinning were used to form decorated CNTs electrospun nanofibrous membrane. These technologies combine the decorated CNTs with electrospinning to create multifunctional membranes from polyurethane (PU) in a straightforward and cost-efficient manner. Different techniques were used to confirm the results. Simultaneously, we observed the morphological features and the particle size of the decorated CuO using scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM) with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). XRD analysis revealed sharp diffraction peaks, indicating the high crystalline structure of CuO NPs grown alongside nanotubes. Additionally, the presence of PU in the diffractogram showed minimal difference in the peak strength of the polyurethane matrix. FT-IR analysis also showed unique peaks that confirmed the substitution of graphite structure of CNTs, which shows that the successful decoration of metal oxide. In terms of catalytic performance, the produced samples demonstrated high efficiency in completing the reduction of 4-nitrophenol, particularly when CuO nanoparticles adorned the outer surface of CNTs in the membrane structure. This confirms the potential of using CuO/CNTs/PU nanofibrous membrane in significant quantities to enhance efficiency against hazardous compounds.