Abstract

A copper anode was used in sodium carbonate solutions to prepare nanoparticles of copper carbonates. To reach the best results, the parameters affecting the preparation procedure were evaluated and optimized based on the Taguchi robust design (TRD), and it was found that the size of the resulting copper carbonates particles could be managed by applying optimal values of parameters such as electrolysis voltage, carbonate concentration, stirring rate and the temperature. To evaluate how significantly the factors influence the size of the particles, analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used, and the results indicated that the electrolysis voltage, carbonates concentration, and stirring rate affect the dimensions of the particles to a high degree. The optimal conditions were also evaluated. Further, the copper carbonate particles were used as the precursor in a solid-state thermal decomposition reaction intended for forming nanostructured CuO particles. All products were studied through SEM, XRD, TG-DTA, and FT-IR techniques and also those of optimal properties were evaluated as photocatalytic species for application in the UV-induced degradation (UVID) of methylene blue (MB).