Photocatalytic degradation of organic dyes and phenol by iron-silicate glass prepared by the sol-gel method

A highly efficient photo-Fenton catalyst iron silicate glass was successfully prepared by a simple sol-gel method. The characterization results (XRD, Mossbauer spectroscopy, TEM, and FT-IR) showed that fayalite, clinoferrosilite and hematite nanoparticles were precipitated in the glass system. The catalytic activity of the glass samples was evaluated by measuring the degradation efficiency for organic dyes as well as for a typical persistent organic pollutant phenol, under visible light irradiation, in the presence of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). The chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total organic carbon (TOC) were measured to see the progress in degradation of phenol. The results showed that the catalyst containing 20% iron had good catalytic properties for the degradation of both types of organic contaminants with superior stability for the degradation of methylene blue dye even after six cycles. Finally, a possible photocatalytic mechanism was proposed.