Iron-doped copper 1,4-benzenedicarboxylate as photo-Fenton catalyst for degradation of methylene blue

Abstract

A metal-organic framework of iron-doped copper 1,4-benzenedicarboxylate was synthesized and, for the first time, utilized as a heterogeneous photo-Fenton catalyst for degradation of methylene blue dye in aqueous solution under visible light irradiation. The synthesized materials were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The influence factors, kinetics, and stability of the synthesized catalysts were investigated in detail. Iron-doped copper 1,4-benzenedicarboxylate showed higher degradation efficiency than pure copper 1,4-benzenedicarboxylate. An almost complete degradation was achieved within 70 min under visible light irradiation at a solution pH of 6, a catalyst loading of 1 g L⁻¹, a H₂O₂ dosage of 0.05 mol L⁻¹ and methylene blue concentration of 50 mg L⁻¹. Recycling studies demonstrated that the iron-doped copper 1,4-benzenedicarboxylate is a promising heterogeneous photo-Fenton catalyst for long-term removal of methylene blue dye from industrial wastewater.

Keywords:

• Fe-CuBDC
• heterogeneous photo-Fenton catalyst
• metal-organic frameworks
• methylene blue
• photodegradation

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this article.