Photo-assisted hetero-fenton decolorization of azo dye from contaminated water by Fe-Si mixed oxide nanocomposite

An aerogel of silica gel dopeyd with 2.86 wt% Fe was prepared by an alkoxide sol-gel method and using tetraethyl orthosilicate as a precursor material. The synthesized aerogel was calcined at 500 degress C to produce nanoparticle solids, and was characterized by XRD, FT-IR and SEM. The nanosized iron-silica gel mixed oxide was tested in the photooxidation of the azo dye Acid Red 14 (AR 14) using 30% aqueous hydrogen peroxide as oxidant and UV light. The 2.86 wt% Fe-loaded SiO2 showed very good efficiency in the decolorization of AR 14. The effects of various parameters including solution pH, catalyst, oxidant and initial dye concentrations on photodegradation were investigated and the optimum conditions were determined. The catalyst was resistant to leaching and could be recycled several times without appreciable loss of activity.