(20e) Degradation of Azo Dyes Using Novel Porous Metal Nanoparticles

Azo dyes are very hazardous pollutants due to their carcinogenicity and toxicity along with the azo(N=N) structure. Methyl orange (MO), a mono azo dye, is one of the typical and widely used water soluble dyes in chemistry, textiles and paper industries. In this work, the degradation of MO is carried out in aqueous solution catalyzed by a new type of nanomaterials - porous metallic and bimetallic nanoparticles composing of cobalt, nickel, iron or platinum. These porous nanoparticles are synthesized using the galvanic replacement reaction with aluminum nanoparticles as templates. The degradation efficiency of MO is evaluated by studying the effects of several important factors, such as the type of the nanoparticles, initial dye concentration, metal nanoparticle dosage, initial solution pH and the addition of H2O2. The degradation characteristics and kinetics are investigated by measurement of the absorbance of the dye solution with a UV-vis spectrophotometer. Possible degradation mechanism with these new porous nanoparticles will be discussed.