Fe-Cu binary oxides as low-cost adsorbents and their application in photocatalytic removal of Acid Red 14, Methyl Orange and Malachite Green from aqueous solutions

Abstract

Abstract:In this work, a series of binary oxides with 0:1, 1:10, 1:7, 1:5, and 1:0 Cu:Fe molar ratios were synthesized by a simple, low cost and effective procedure. The anionic dyes namely, Acid Red 14 (AR14) and Methyl Orange (MO) and Malachite Green (MG) as a cationic dye removal and adsorption onto these materials was investigated. The effects of Cu:Fe molar ratio, pH, and sorbent dosage were investigated at 25±1 °C. The synthesized adsorbent compound containing 1:7 molar ratio of Cu:Fe verified to possess an uppermost dye adsorption capacity. Subsequently, this new sorbent was characterized using different techniques such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Transmission electron microscopy(TEM), and Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The new nanostructure was confirmed for dye adsorption in the presence of UV irradiation. Selected Fe-Cu binary oxide exposed the highest adsorption capacities of MG regarding the other dyes. It would be a practical process of removing MG from aqueous solution by increasing adsorption efficacy during wastewater treatment. The photocatalytic performance of as-fabricated binary oxides was surveyed with the destruction of dye.

Keywords

• fe-cu binary oxides
• dye adsorption
• acid red 14
• methyl orange
• malachite green