{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,28]],"date-time":"2026-09-28T13:48:39Z","timestamp":1790603319904,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":33,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"24","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,12,12]],"date-time":"2022-12-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1670803200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"National University Promotion Program at Jeonbuk National University"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Molecules"],"abstract":"<jats:p>A facile two-step synthesis of ternary hetero-composites of ZnO, CuO, and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) was developed through a recrystallization process followed by annealing. A series of nanocomposites were prepared by varying the weight ratio of copper(II) acetate hydrate and zinc(II) acetate dihydrate and keeping the weight ratio of SWCNTs constant. The results revealed the formation of heterojunctions (ZnO\u2013SWCNT\u2013CuO, ZSC) of three crystal structures adjacent to each other, forming a ternary wurtzite-structured nanoparticles along with defects. Enhanced charge separation (electron-hole pairs), reduced band gap, defect-enhanced specific surface area, and promoted oxidation potential were key factors for the enhanced photocatalytic activity of the ternary nanocomposites. OH\u2022 radicals were the main active species during dye degradation, and O2\u2212\u2022 and h+ were also involved to a lesser extent. A type II heterojunction mechanism approach is proposed based on the charge carrier migration pattern. Among the synthesized nanocomposites, the sample prepared using copper(II) acetate hydrate and zinc(II) acetate dihydrate in a 1: 9 ratio (designated a ZSC3) showed the highest photocatalytic activity. ZSC3 achieved 99.2% photodecomposition of methylene blue in 20 min, 94.1% photodecomposition of Congo red in 60 min, and 99.6% photodecomposition of Rhodamine B in 40 min under simulated sunlight. Additionally, ZSC3 showed excellent reusability and stability, maintaining 96.7% of its activity even after five successive uses. Based on overall results, the ZSC sample was proposed as an excellent candidate for water purification applications.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/molecules27248812","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,12,13]],"date-time":"2022-12-13T03:32:32Z","timestamp":1670902352000},"page":"8812","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":14,"title":["Carbon-Based Ternary Nanocomposite: Bullet Type ZnO\u2013SWCNT\u2013CuO for Substantial Solar-Driven Photocatalytic Decomposition of Aqueous Organic Contaminants"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"27","author":[{"given":"Santu","family":"Shrestha","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemistry, Research Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju 54896, Republic of Korea"},{"name":"Department of Chemistry, Tribhuvan University, Amrit Campus, Kathmandu 44618, Nepal"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kamal Prasad","family":"Sapkota","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemistry, Research Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju 54896, Republic of Korea"},{"name":"Department of Chemistry, Tribhuvan University, Amrit Campus, Kathmandu 44618, Nepal"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Insup","family":"Lee","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemistry, Research Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju 54896, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Md Akherul","family":"Islam","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Bioactive Material Sciences, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju 54896, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anil","family":"Pandey","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemistry, Research Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju 54896, Republic of Korea"},{"name":"Department of Chemistry, Tribhuvan University, Amrit Campus, Kathmandu 44618, Nepal"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7810-7260","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Narayan","family":"Gyawali","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemistry, Research Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju 54896, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8858-6488","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jeasmin","family":"Akter","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemistry, Research Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju 54896, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6991-1396","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Harshavardhan","family":"Mohan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemistry, Research Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju 54896, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Taeho","family":"Shin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemistry, Research Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju 54896, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sukmin","family":"Jeong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physics, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju 54896, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7948-6557","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jae Ryang","family":"Hahn","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemistry, Research Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju 54896, Republic of Korea"},{"name":"Textile Engineering, Chemistry and Science, North Carolina State University, 2401 Research Dr., Raleigh, NC 27695, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,12,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"102009","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cis.2019.102009","article-title":"Adsorptive removal and photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants using metal oxides and their composites: A comprehensive review","volume":"272","author":"Gusain","year":"2019","journal-title":"Adv. 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