Degradation of crystal violet using copper modified iron oxide as heterogeneous photo-fenton reagent

The heterogeneous photo-Fenton degradation of crystal violet under visible light has been investigated using copper modified iron oxide. The photocatalyst has been prepared by coprecipitation method. The rate of photocatalyic degradation of dye was monitored spectrophotometrically. It has been observed that photocatalytic degradation follows pseudo first order kinetics. The effect of various parameters like pH, concentration of dye, amount of photocatalyst, amount of H2O2 and light intensity on the rate of photo- Fenton degradation has also been observed. Photocatalyst has been characterized by IR spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) of the reaction mixture before and after exposure was determined. A tentative mechanism for the photocatalytic degradation of crystal violet has also been proposed. Involvement of •OH radicals has been confirmed by using isopropanol and butylated hydroxy toluene (BHT) as •OH radical scavengers. It has been observed that rate of reaction is drastically reduced in the presence of these scavangers. Under similar conditions Fe2O3 has also been prepared. The efficiency of Fe2O3 and copper modified Fe2O3 has been compared for the photocatalytic degradation of crystal violet.