Visible light-induced degradation of organic pollutants using Fe(II) supported on silica gel as an effective catalyst

Silica gel-supported Fe(II) (SiOFe) was prepared and used for heterogeneous degradation of sulforhodamine B (SRB) and 2,4-dichlorophenol (DCP) under visible irradiation (λ > 420 nm) as an effective catalyst. UV-visible spectra, and infrared Spectrophotometry (IR), fluorescence, total organic carbon (TOC) and electron spin resonance (ESR) measurements were employed to analyze the photoreaction products. The results showed that SRB could be efficiently degraded by SiOFe/H2O2 system under visible irradiation with 100% decolorization and 72.3% TOC removal after 180 min illumination. The results of ESR and fluorescence measurements indicated that the oxidative process was predominated mainly by the hydroxyl radical (·OH) generated in the system.