Degradation of acid scarlet 3R with CuO/SiO2 hollow sphere catalyst

Abstract

Silica-supported copper catalyst materials have been synthesized via an incipient wetness impregnation. The resulting samples were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Scanning electron microscope (SEM). The heterogeneous Fenton-like oxidation of reactive azo dye solutions by this catalyst was also investigated. The effects of various operating conditions on decolorization performance were evaluated, namely hydrogen peroxide dosage, initial pH, catalyst loading and initial dye concentration. The results indicated that by using 34 mmol/L of H2O2 and 6.0 g L-1 of the catalyst at 60°C, pH 3.5, 97% of decolorization efficiency was achieved within 90 min. CuO/SiO2 hollow sphere is shown a promising catalyst for degradation of azo dye aqueous solution by Fenton-like processes.