Mesoporous MCM-41 modified with Cu(II) for indole removal: A Taguchi design

Abstract

Indole is a hazardous substance existing in the curl oil, which released to the environment by various industrial activities; thus, decreasing its ratio from nature seems to be essential. In this study, a facial pathway for loading Cu(II) particles on MCM-41 mesoporous material was introduced as an efficient catalyst for indole oxidation. The obtained catalyst was characterized by XRD, FESEM, EDS, TEM and BET/BJH techniques. Based on Taguchi method, indole oxidation via prepared catalyst at mild condition was evaluated. By applying this method, the operating factors including Indole initial concentration (mg/L), pH value and the mass of catalyst (g) were optimized. It was found that pH plays the most crucial role in indole oxidation, on the other word, in alkaline environment; indole oxidation was happened with higher yield.

Keywords

• cu(ii)/mcm-41
• mesopore
• indole
• taguchi
• optimization