Photocatalytic Activation of Peroxymonosulfate by CuO/ <i>γ</i> ‐Al ₂ O ₃ for Degradation of Crystal Violet in Aqueous Media

This study reports the synthesis of γ ‐Al 2 O 3 supported CuO (C‐AlO14) material via impregnation technique. The synthesized C‐AlO14 photocatalyst successfully degraded crystal violet (CV) dye via photoactivation of peroxymonosulfate (PMS). The synthesized photocatalysts are thoroughly examined using a variety of techniques, including energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X‐ray diffraction analysis, and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The Tauc plots indicated the band gap energy of C‐AlO14 was 2.1 eV compared to 1.67 eV for CuO and 3.3 eV for γ ‐Al 2 O. The results indicated that CV (10.0 mg L −1 ) is almost entirely eliminated (99%) by using C‐AlO14 (30 mg) in the presence of PMS (2.0 mM) at pH 6.8 under 30 min of UV irradiation. Scavenger studies indicate that the reaction system produces SO 4 •− , • OH, h + , and O 2 •− . Accordingly, detailed charge transfer pathway mechanism is explored for UV/C‐AlO14/PMS system. Furthermore, degradation intermediates of CV are identified, and subsequently degradation pathways are proposed. Ecological structure activity relationships analysis indicated that UV/C‐AlO14/PMS process degrades organic contaminants by environmentally safe route.