Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue with Side-glowing Optical Fiber Deliverying Visible Light

The side-glowing optical fibers (SOFs) were chosen as the conducting medium of endogenous light; and 20 mg.L-1 methylene blue was chosen as the target to be degraded. The SOF is made up of quartz core with a silicon cladding, which can emit light through side surface more uniformly and transmit light for longer distance to avoid attenuation of light by liquid medium. The filament lamp was chosen as visible light source. Different reaction conditions, such as the presence of optical fiber or not, the quantity of SOF, light irradiation intensity were tested by measuring the methylene blue degradation of methylene blue. The results show that suitable reaction conditions were 1.167 g.L-1 Ag+/TiO2 with 7% (by mass) of Ag+ doped in TiO2, and 500 roots of SOF (30 cm length in solution). The photocatalytic degradation efficiency under 300W lamp irradiation for 8h was about 97%. And the photocatalytic degradation efficiency of methylene blue degradation was proportional to SOF quantity, light irradiation intensity and catalytic dosage within a certain range. Compared with general UV and visible light SOFs could save a huge amount of energy and cost, in the potential applications in dealing with organic pollutants on a large scale.