Photocatalytic activity of Fe3O4–Fe2O3 particles supported on mordenite under visible light exposure for methylene blue degradation

Abstract

Dyes pollution is a serious environmental problem and heterogeneous catalysis has been proposed as a remediation method. In this study, a set of catalysts of synthetic mordenite with iron oxides was synthesized by a simple chemical co-precipitation method assisted by subsequent thermal treatment with an oxidation process. Physicochemical characterization of prepared materials was performed by a variety of techniques, including XRD, SEM, EDS, SBET, UV–Vis DR, and XPS. Photocatalytic methylene blue (MB) degradation by the synthesized catalyst was evaluated with visible light excitation. From the studied set of catalysts, the sample prepared with a thermal treatment at 100 °C in air atmosphere for 3 h was capable of degrading ~ 90% of MB after 120 min with visible light of λ = 420 nm exposition and a small portion of H2O2 added. The catalyst used three processes to degrade MB: (1) adsorption of organic residues in the mordenite matrix support for electrostatic interactions, (2) photocatalysis heterogeneous reaction with visible light and (3) Fenton reaction catalyst with a small portion to H2O2 by Fe3O4–Fe2O3 presence. The catalytic efficiency to dye degradation was improved by a simple and economical thermal treatment without changing reaction conditions like pH, temperature, dose, or other. Studied mordenite iron oxide catalysts can be retrieved and reused at least five times without noticeable degradation, taking advantage of their magnetic properties. These catalysts could be proposed an economical, simple, and non-toxic alternative for eliminating organic dye pollution using visible light or solar irradiation in wastewater remediation related to textile, food, and pharmaceutical industries.