Efficient degradation of Congo red dye from the aqueous phase by a novel advanced oxidation method

Abstract

Organic dyes used to shade numerous materials on an industrial level causes water pollution. To meet the need for the removal of the dye-laden water the mechanistic methodology is developed in which catalyst (ZnO), oxidizer (H2O2), and irradiation of low dose (4 KGy) are involved. Oxidizers and catalysts are characterized for surface morphology by SEM, functional groups by FTIR, crystallinity by XRD, particle size by PSA, and for elemental ratio by EDX. A solution ranging from 2 ppm to 8 ppm of Congo red (CR) dye, ZnO (100 μg) as a catalyst, H2O2 (100 μL), as an oxidizer, and 4 KGy energy radiations were used during the degradation analysis for 30, 60, 90, and 120 min. The enhanced effect is shown by using the oxidizer, catalyst, and irradiation at a time. Moreover, it shows a degradation of 99 % for 2 ppm and 4 ppm within 60 min while 6 ppm almost 99 % within 90 min, and 8 ppm almost 96.76 % within 120 min. The established mechanistic methodology can also be applied to actual aqueous industrial samples.