An Expanded IrO2/Ti Durable Electrode for Electrochemical Degradation of Basic Red 46 Textile Dye in Both Single and Binary Mixture Solutions

The use of dimensionally stable anode (DSA) for degrading organic pollutants is of concern recently. The electrocatalytic technique can efficiently treat biodegradable organic matter like dye-containing effluent discharge. This study focuses on applying modified DSA meshed IrO2/Ti electrode for the electrochemical degradation of wastewater effluents of Basic Red 46 (BR46) textile dye using different supporting electrolytes; sodium sulfate (Na2SO4) or/and sodium chloride (NaCl). The parameters affecting the proposed electrochemical degradation process were evaluated to select the optimal operating conditions. The results revealed that using a mixture of supporting electrolyte Na2SO4 and NaCl enhanced the removal of dye color %, chemical oxygen demand (COD) %, and total organic carbon (TOC) % by 94.9%, 65.7%, and 76.0%, respectively. The UV-Vis and FT-IR spectroscopic techniques followed the degradation efficiency. FT-IR data were in good agreement with the COD, TOC, and UV-Vis measurements, confirming the high refractory performance of the BR46 dye. The redox process was performed on the surface of the modified electrode and explained via cyclic voltammetry (CV), and it showed a diffusion mass transport mechanism followed by product adsorption. The identification of the degradation products was assessed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. The electrochemical degradation and mineralization of a binary mixture of Basic Yellow (BY28) and BR46 textile dyes were also studied. It gave similar degradation and mineralization behavior to the same extent as the single dye in solutions.