Enhancement of photocatalytic efficacy by exploiting copper doping in nano-hydroxyapatite for degradation of Congo red dye

This research deals with the photocatalytic activity of hydroxyapatite and the improvement of efficiency by doping various percentages of copper; the catalysts were synthesized by the wet-chemical method. Pure and copper-doped photocatalysts were characterized by several techniques including X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), dynamic scanning calorimetry (DSC), and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The competency of pure and copper-doped hydroxyapatite as photocatalysts was assessed by their interaction with Congo red dye. The crystallographic parameters of the catalysts were also estimated by employing the XRD technique, and a relationship was established between the calculated parameters and photocatalytic performance. Crystallite size was calculated from various model equations, which revealed an acceptable crystallite size of 42–68 nm. Copper doping in hydroxyapatite impressively augmented the photocatalytic efficacy, for example 99% dye was degraded upon 0.63% Cu-doping compared to 75% for the pure HAp, which was exemplified not only by the reaction rate but also by the quantum yield. The degradation percentages changed with time but became fixed at 200 min. The molar extinction coefficient was estimated by employing the Beer–Lambert law and further utilized to compute the photonic efficiency of the catalysts. In the study of the photochemical reaction, a simplified reaction process was proposed, and the potentials of the conduction band and valence band were assessed, which influenced the activity. The doping of Cu in crystalline hydroxyapatite will enhance the photocatalytic activity towards Congo red dye under all experimental conditions.