Photoelectro-Fenton/photocatalytic process for decolorization of an organic compound by Ag:Cd-1,4-BDOAH2 nano-photocatalyst: Response surface modeling and central composite design optimization

In the present research, the synthesis of the cadmium-benzene-1,4-dioxyacetic acid (Cd-1,4-BDOAH(2)) was carried out by the assistance of ultrasound waves, and then it was loaded with the low amount of Ag nano-particles. Subsequently, the Ag:Cd-1,4-BDOAH(2) nano-photocatalyst was applied for photoelectro-Fenton/photocatalytic (PEF-PH) degradation of brilliant green (BG) in the existence of visible light in aqueous media. The synthesized composite was characterized by FTIR, SEM, EDX, TEM, XRD, DRS, and PL. The best operational conditions including time, initial BG concentration, pH, amount of photocatalyst, current and amount of FeCl3 on degradation efficiency (main and interactive) were as follows: 4 mg L-1 of BG at pH of 5, 0.4 g L-1 of Ag:Cd-1,4-BDOAH(2), 250 mA of current, and 0.3 mmol L-1 of FeCl3 obtained by central composite design. The PEF-PH degradation kinetic data of BG were successfully fitted to Langmuir-Hinshelwood (L-H) model with the values of 1.16 mg L-1 min(-1) and 0.018 L mg(-1) for the rate constant (k(r)) and (K-A), respectively. (C) 2020 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Automated summary

In this research, a Cd-1,4-BDOAH(2) composite was synthesized with the assistance of ultrasound waves and loaded with Ag nano-particles to form the Ag:Cd-1,4-BDOAH(2) nano-photocatalyst for the degradation of brilliant green under visible light. The best operational conditions and degradation kinetics were successfully determined for the process, providing valuable insights into the mechanism of the PEF-PH degradation of BG.