CuO-modified CoTiO3 via Catharanthus roseus extract: A novel nanocomposite with high photocatalytic activity

In this study, novel CoTiO3-CuO were constructed by a facile sol-gel method via Catharanthus roseus leaf extract (CRE) as hydrolyzing and capping agents in nanocomposites preparation. The morphological analysis demonstrates that CuO was formed on the CoTiO3 surface. The degradation of methylene blue (MB) under visible light irradiation represents the photocatalytic activity of CoTiO3-CuO, which possessed a bandgap value of 1.7 eV. CuO-modified CoTiO3 exhibited higher photocatalytic activity with degradation percentage of 85% within 120 min than pure CoTiO3. The increased photocatalytic activity of CoTiO3-CuO was attributed to the heterojunction structure of nanocomposites, which leads to a slow rate of the photogenerated electrons-holes recombination. Additionally, CoTiO3-CuO nanocomposites displayed good stability catalysts after 4 recycles for MB degradation. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.