Photo‐Assisted Immobilized Fenton Degradation up to pH 8 of Azo Dye Orange II Mediated by Fe3+/Nafion/Glass Fibers

Fe³⁺ Ions have been immobilized into very thin Nafion films cast onto a glass‐fiber mat immersed in an alcoholic solution of Nafion oligomers. This immobilized Fenton catalyst was used to abate/mineralize the azo dye Orange II, taken as a model organic compound. The abatement of Orange II on the Fe³⁺/Nafion/glass fibers was observed to proceed within the same time period as when Nafion alone was used to immobilize the Fe³⁺ ions during the photo‐Fenton reaction. The amount of Nafion in the Nafion Fe³⁺/Nafion/glass fibers was ca. 15 times less per unit surface area compared to Fe³⁺‐exchanged on conventional Nafion membranes used to immobilize Fe³⁺ ions. Orange II solutions under visible‐light irradiation in the presence of H₂O₂ were mineralized up to pH 8 with a kinetics comparable to that found during the degradation runs at pH 3. Repetitive mineralization cycles mediated by the Fe³⁺/Nafion/glass fibers under visible light did not show any decrease in the activity of the immobilized catalysts. A reaction mechanism consistent with the experimental data is suggested. The morphology of the Fe³⁺/Nafion/glass fibers was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showing thin Nafion films cast deposited on the glass fibers. Transmission‐electron‐microscopy (TEM) micrographs reveal Fe³⁺‐oxy‐hydroxide particles of 3 – 6 nm before and after repetitive Orange II photodegradation. X‐Ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) provided the evidence for the existence of Fe clusters on the topmost layer of the catalyst mainly as Fe^III. The improvements brought by the glass fibers are a) the use of low quantities of expensive Nafion supported on glass mats to achieve dye degradation rates comparable to Nafion alone and b) Fenton‐mediated degradation of azo dyes at pH 8 without the costly initial acidification usually needed for this type of treatment.