Photodegradation of Methyl Orange Dye using Titanium Dioxide Photocatalyst

Photodegradation of methyl orange (MO) dye in aqueous solution was carried out using titanium dioxide (TiO2) photocatalyst. To enhance the efficiency of the photodegradation process, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and metal ion of Cu2+ was added. Ultra-violet (UV) lamp (6 W and wavelength, λ = 354 nm) was used as the illumination source. The results showed that full (100%) degradation of 20 ppm methly orange was achieved within 90 minutes in a system consisting of 0.01 g TiO2, 1 x 10-2 M aqueous Cu2+ solution and 1 x 10-4 M hydrogen peroxide under UV illumination.