Synthesis of Ag-Doped CuPc-ZnO/Hydrophobic Silica Aerogel Nanophotocatalyst for Enhanced Photocatalytic Degradation of Floating Benzene: A Comparative Study of Different Photoreactor Geometries

Synthesis of Ag-Doped CuPc-ZnO/Hydrophobic Silica Aerogel Nanophotocatalyst for Enhanced Photocatalytic Degradation of Floating Benzene: A Comparative Study of Different Photoreactor Geometries | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Synthesis of Ag-Doped CuPc-ZnO/Hydrophobic Silica Aerogel Nanophotocatalyst for Enhanced Photocatalytic Degradation of Floating Benzene: A Comparative Study of Different Photoreactor Geometries Hamid Kazemi Hakki, Hadi Seyyedbagheri, Shahla Zubair Ahmed, Hossein Alinezhad Avalzali, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3825756/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract In recent years, water pollution with water-immiscible pollutants such as BTXs has attracted the attention of researchers, and for this purpose, the use of silica aerogel-based photocatalysts has been favored by researchers. In this research, the synthesis of an Ag-CuPc-ZnO/Silica Aerogel hydrophobic photocatalyst was prepared by sol-gel and impregnation methods for the degradation of floating benzene pollutants originating from oil well explosions is presented. The effect of different percentages of Ag on the catalyst's performance was evaluated, and the optimal sample was studied in rectangular and cylindrical photoreactors. Characterization techniques such as XRD, FESEM, FTIR, BET/BJH, PL, contact angle, and UV-Vis DRS were employed to analyze the physicochemical properties of the hydrophobic photocatalyst BET analysis showed an increased specific surface area and decreased pore diameter with decreasing nanoparticle size. DRS analysis demonstrated a decreased bandgap with increasing Ag content and increased light absorption in the visible light region with CuPc addition. PL analysis indicated a significant decrease in electron-hole recombination with 10% Ag. Ag-CuPc-ZnO/Silica Aerogel with 10% wt. Ag exhibited the highest efficiency in benzene photodegradation. The rectangular photoreactor demonstrated superior performance with higher degradation rates, STY, PSTY, and QY, attributed to its uniform light distribution and better illumination. Floating Pollutants Ag-CuPc-ZnO nanocomposite Silica Aerogel Photoreactor Geometry Hydrophobic Photocatalyst Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-3825756","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":264608312,"identity":"aa0bda17-5181-4552-8339-8f3ad475044d","order_by":0,"name":"Hamid Kazemi Hakki","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"","institution":"Soran University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Hamid","middleName":"Kazemi","lastName":"Hakki","suffix":""},{"id":264608313,"identity":"fa50b234-47a3-4467-8b2b-31f8f32f3eef","order_by":1,"name":"Hadi Seyyedbagheri","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Sahand University of Technology, Sahand New Town","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Hadi","middleName":"","lastName":"Seyyedbagheri","suffix":""},{"id":264608314,"identity":"8b42b503-6f12-40a2-95b3-8e22bc8efba3","order_by":2,"name":"Shahla Zubair Ahmed","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Soran University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Shahla","middleName":"Zubair","lastName":"Ahmed","suffix":""},{"id":264608315,"identity":"78269275-4d8f-4a52-8435-f012d5529a5d","order_by":3,"name":"Hossein Alinezhad Avalzali","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Sahand University of Technology, Sahand New Town","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Hossein","middleName":"Alinezhad","lastName":"Avalzali","suffix":""},{"id":264608316,"identity":"7fbc446c-50ea-4f9d-a364-f5887e5ab776","order_by":4,"name":"Aref Ghaderi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Soran University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Aref","middleName":"","lastName":"Ghaderi","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2023-12-31 11:59:29","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3825756/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3825756/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":49554727,"identity":"227175e4-2262-43a7-ae62-1a979aaed68f","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-01-13 02:07:28","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1578686,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"kazemihakkietalfinal.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-3825756/v1_covered_1cf8d2ae-39a0-4d0f-84f6-9db1380049e6.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Synthesis of Ag-Doped CuPc-ZnO/Hydrophobic Silica Aerogel Nanophotocatalyst for Enhanced Photocatalytic Degradation of Floating Benzene: A Comparative Study of Different Photoreactor Geometries","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Floating Pollutants, Ag-CuPc-ZnO nanocomposite, Silica Aerogel, Photoreactor Geometry, Hydrophobic Photocatalyst","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3825756/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3825756/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eIn recent years, water pollution with water-immiscible pollutants such as BTXs has attracted the attention of researchers, and for this purpose, the use of silica aerogel-based photocatalysts has been favored by researchers. 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