Fenton immobilized photo-assisted catalysis through a Fe/C structured fabric

A novel Fe/C-fabric structured catalyst with an iron loading of 0.1% is presented capable of complete discoloration of Orange II under visible light. The performance of the catalyst was explored as a function of the solution parameters: pH, the concentration of H2O2 used as oxidant, Orange II concentration, intensity of light applied and the reaction temperature. The activation energy of the Orange II discoloration was determined to be 10.4 kcal/mol. The catalyst surface is shown by infrared spectroscopy (IR) not to block during the reaction due to the adsorption of initial or intermediate products during Orange II decomposition. By this technique the formation of carboxylates was shown during Orange II decomposition under light irradiation. The C/fabric and Fe/C-fabric obtained have been characterized by surface area and pore measurements (BET = 0.3 m(2)/g), optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Surface iron oxide and iron hydroxides were observed to be the catalytically active sites on the C-fabric during Orange II discoloration. The oxidation state of the Fe was observed to remain constant during the long-term reactor operation indicating a stable catalyst performance. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.