Synthesis of Octahedral Cu2O Nanoparticles and

Photocatalytic Degradation of Neutral Red Dye

Joaquin Molto, Cristtian Gonzalez, Brayan Perez
Miami Dade College Hialeah Campus

Introduction Results
 Nanoparticles are the cornerstone of the field of Nanotechnology Figures 1 & 2
and Nanomaterials; it is the application of science to control matter SEM Images of Octahedral Nanoparticles
1) 2)
at the molecular level. Cu2O nanoparticles are semiconductors,
they also have photocatalytic properties. Furthermore, they have a
large surface area that can be used to multiple purposes. For
example, the photocatalytic degradation of organic dyes that
strongly pollute the environment in runoff factory waters.1
 In this experiment, we used octahedral nanoparticles in order to
degrade Neutral Red dye. As a relatively non-toxic compound,
Neutral Red has been widely used for root growth studies, and
many other applications.
Figure 5
Hypothesis Kinetics Analysis trendlines illustrate a consistent degradation of
Neutral Red Dye will degrade faster when exposed to a basic pH due the Neutral Red Dye under different pH; basic pH (8.0)
to its pH-sensitive color showing the most dramatic amount of degradation.

Methods Conclusions
Experiment 1: Synthesis of Cu2O Nanoparticles  There was a successful synthesis of octahedral-shaped
36 mL H2O 2 mL 2 mL 2 mL Thermal Cycler

2 mL CuSO4 Na3C6H5O7 Na2CO3 “Saturated” Water Bath Cu2O Nanoparticles using a PVP mass of 5.67 g
C6H12O6 (Temp = 80°C)
5.67 g PVP  Due to Neutral Red’s pH-sensitive color, the wavelength (λMAX)
(Poly Vinyl Pyrrolidone)
15 mins
10 mins
of the spectrophotometer had to be lowered from 527 nm to 515 nm,
as found in the corresponding literature.
 As observed in the Kinetics Analysis and % Decomposition
graphs, the Neutral Red Dye has a tendency to photodegrade
by itself; however, the addition of Cu2O Nanoparticles sped up
Experiment 2: Photocatalytic Degradation of Neutral Red (NR) Dye the rate of photodegradation. Additionally, there was a faster
2 mL of DI/Env. Water
1 mL of NR Dye degradation under basic pH (8.0)
300 μL of Solutions Figure 3
4 mL NR Dye

References
Octahedral NPs Into Centrifuge Tubes (before irradiation)
16 mL DI/Env. Water
(except Control) Average Length of Octahedral-Shaped NPs: 1.693 ɥm
1. Nguyen M, Bedford N, Ren Y, Zahran E, Goodin R, Chagani F,
Bachas L, Knecht M. Direct Synthetic Control over the Size,
Composition, and Photocatalytic Activity of Octahedral Copper
T1 T2 T3 Control
Oxide Materials: Correlation Between Surface Structure and
Catalytic Functionality. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces.
Incubate NR vials After Irradiation:
Pipette 2.5 mL of
under LED lamps for Collect 1 mL samples from NR Dye 2015; 7:13238-13250. Doi:10.1021/acsami.5b04282
supernatant into
30 mins
vials at (0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 45,
and 60 mins). Transfer into clean cuvette &
2. Winfried A, Wolfgang Junge. Neutral Red, a Rapid Indicator for
(in constant stirring) Centrifuge Tubes Centrifuge for measure pH-Changes in the Inner Phase of Thylakoids. 1975.
approx. 30 secs absorbance in

Acknowledgments
Spectrophotometer

The original research summarized in the following was supported, in part, by The
λMAX = 527 nm National Science Foundation Building Capacity: Hispanic STEM Student Success
pH = 7.0
from 2‐year to 4‐year Institutions through CUREs project (1832436). Any opinions,
Figure 4 findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are
λMAX = 515 nm Percent Decomposition shows greater degradation in those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the respective
pH = 8.0;8.7
funding agency.
For NR pH 7.0, Spectrophotometer was set up at the
appropriate wavelength of 527 nm. Experiment #2 and #3 (pH = 8 and 8.7 respectively) than in We would like to thank Dr. Castells, Nermina Brljak and Jordan Valdez for their
For NR pH ≥ 8.0, Spectrophotometer had to be recalibrated to
a wavelength of 515 nm for accurate reading.2 Experiment #1 (pH = 7) help in this project.