Photocatalytic Degradation of Crystal Violet Dye Using Iron Oxide Nanoparticles

Abstract

Increased industrial population causes water pollution. The release of toxic waste products from various industries become a major environmental issue. There are several methods for water decontamination and the advanced oxidation process (AOP) is one of them. The AOP’s rate can be increased using a variety of nanoparticles as a catalyst to degrade contaminants dyes like Crystal violet (CV). Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) are one of the most suitable materials to deal with this environmental issue because of their easy reusability along with high reactive surface area and easy to synthesize. Considering this, using the co-precipitation method iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) were synthesised in the present work. The as-prepared nanoparticles are then systematically characterized by various analytical tools. The XRD and FTIR suggest the crystalline structure and surface functional groups of the IONPs. The zeta potential study depicts the surface charge of nanoparticles within the colloidal solution. Additionally, the catalytic activity of IONPs was studied by the photo-Fenton process. The utilization of various catalytic parameters like pH (3–7), catalyst dosage (100–400 mg), dye concentration (0.025–0.1 mM) and H2O2 concentration (2–8 mM) has enhanced the effectiveness of the photo-Fenton process for the efficient removal of organic pollutant. Degradation efficiency was observed to be 94% after 90 minutes in the treatment of 5 mg nanoparticles with 0.05 mM dye solution. This magnetically recyclable catalyst will facilitate the advancement of water treatment in an environmentally sustainable and cost-effective manner, with notable potential.