Sonocatalytic degradation of methyl orange in aqueous solution using Fe-doped TiO2 nanoparticles under mechanical agitation

Abstract

AbstractIn the present study, the Fe-doped TiO2 modified nanoparticles was successfully synthesized by the combination of the sol-gel method and heat treatment, and the degradation of methyl orange was tested by the combination method of ultrasonic radiation and mechanical agitation. The effects of different factors on the degradation of methyl orange (MO) solution were studied, such as ultrasonic irradiation time, the ultrasonic frequency, the added amount of catalyst, the initial pH value, the initial concentration of methyl orange, and revolutions per minute. The optimal experimental conditions for sonocatalytic degradation of the MO obtained were: ultrasonic irradiation time = 60 min, pH value = 3.0 and revolutions per minute = 500 rpm. By means of response surface analysis, the best fitting conditions were as follows: ultrasonic frequency = 36.02 kHz, added amount of catalyst = 490.50 mg/L, the initial concentration of methyl orange = 9.22 mg/L, and the optimum condition was close to the experimental data by response surface method. Under optimal conditions, the sonocatalytic degradation of MO was 99%. The degradation of MO showed that the combination of Fe-doped modified TiO2 nanoparticles, mechanical agitation and ultrasonic irradiation was discovered that can degrade methyl orange effectively in aqueous solution.