Environmental remediation by an integrated microwave/UV-illumination method II.: Characteristics of a novel UV–VIS–microwave integrated irradiation device in photodegradation processes

In this brief article we examined the characteristics of a novel UV–VIS–microwave integrated irradiation device and explore its usefulness using the now well-established photo-degradation of a cationic dye (rhodamine-B; RhB) as a test substrate. The device consisted of a double quartz cylindrical plasma photoreactor (DQCPP) equipped with a microwave (MW) powered electrodeless Hg/Ne irradiation source. The latter is activated only by the MW radiation. The integrated MW–UV–VIS radiations so produced and incident on the DQCPP reactor significantly enhanced the decomposition of the RhB dye through simultaneous photocatalytic and photosensitization processes.