PHOTOCATALYTIC DEGRADATION OF RHODAMINE B IN HETEROGE-NEOUS AND HOMOGENEOUS SYSTEMS

This study focuses on the photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) in heterogeneous and homogeneous photo Fenton reactions. In the heterogeneous system, iron(II) doped copper ferrite (Cu(x)Fe(1-X)II)-Fe-II (Fe2O4)-O-III nanoparticles (NPs) prepared in our previous work were employed as potential catalysts. The photodegradation of RhB was carried out in a quartz cuvette located in a diode array spectrometer. The experimental conditions such as pH, NPs dosage and H2O2 dosage with regard to the photocatalytic degradation of RhB were optimized to be 7.5, 500 mg/L and 8.9 x 10(-2) mol/L, respectively. In addition, visible light-induced photodegradation of RhB was also carried out by using H2O2 over a wide pH range in the absence of heterogeneous photocatalysts. It was observed that the reaction rate significantly increased above pH 10, resulting in a faster rate of degradation of RhB, which may be attributed to the deprotonation of hydrogen peroxide. Furthermore, the potential antibacterial property of such catalysts against the Gram-negative bacterium Vibrio fischeri in a bioluminescence assay yielded inhibition activities of more than 60% in all cases.

Automated summary

This study focused on the photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B in both heterogeneous and homogeneous photo Fenton reactions. Iron(II) doped copper ferrite nanoparticles were used as catalysts in the heterogeneous system, while H2O2 was employed for visible light-induced photodegradation in the absence of heterogeneous photocatalysts. Antibacterial tests showed inhibition activities of more than 60% against Vibrio fischeri.