The catalytic degradation of dyes using polyethersulfone/poly(vinylidene fluoride)/copper oxide composite nanofibers

This work reports on the synthesis of copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles and its incorporation into the polyethersulfone/poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PES/PVDF) nanofibers for both antibacterial and dyes degradation purposes. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), ultraviolet (UV) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) characterized the materials' morphology and structure. Most notably, the CuO NPs exhibited low to mild toxicity toward different types of cells. The synthesis of CuO NPs and their subsequent incorporation into the PES/PVDF nanofibers was also successful, as illustrated by TEM, XRD and SEM characterizations. Moreover, the degradation and antibacterial studies were done using the methyl orange/coomassie blue dyes and E. coli bacterial strain, respectively. With respect to antibacterial properties, the CuO nanoparticles performed better as compared to the PES/PVDF/CuO composites. Furthermore, the bare nanoparticles emerged as excellent catalysts in comparison to the decorated nanofibers.