Publication

Abstract : Environmental pollution has made access to clean water increasingly difficult in recent years, making it one of the most critical problems for the sustainability of life. In response to these circumstances, a CuO@C nanocomposite material was prepared using the Sorghum bicolor stem part for the adsorptive removal of organic dyes [Malachite Green (MG) and Methylene Blue (MB)] and for testing its antibacterial properties. The modification of carbon with CuO nanoparticles resulted in the material's antibacterial properties. Five cycles of reusability of the CuO@C nanocomposite were studied. Characterization studies were conducted using powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Brunauer-Emmet-Teller analysis and TGA. Optimization studies for the adsorption-based removal of pollutants were conducted using MG and MB solutions as model organic pollutants. Physisorption is shown to be the adsorption process by thermodynamic analysis (exothermic) and kinetic studies (pseudo-first-order kinetics). Adsorption isotherm studies showed that the Langmuir adsorption isotherm was the best fit for MG and MB. The maximum adsorption capacity of the adsorbent towards MG and MB was 125 and 66.6 mg/g, respectively. The CuO@C nanocomposite exhibited notable antibacterial potential against the gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria tested. The bacterial count in treated water was reduced to zero for both strains. The results showed that the CuO@C nanocomposite is a promising material for environmental remediation purposes.