Background and purpose: Dyes are one of the major sources of chemicals responsible for environmental pollution. Synthetic dyes degradation in industrial wastewaters has received increasing attention due to their high solubility and stability in water. In the present study, the photocatalytic efficiency of as-synthesized nano- TiO₂ supported on the H-form Fe- Fe-ZSM-5 zeolite was investigated for degradation of reactive red 198 dye in water under UV light.

Materials and methods: Effects of dye concentration and pH of the water solution were studied in batch techniques to determine the optimum values of operating conditions. The elemental composition of synthesized photocatalyst was determined by EDX (Energy-Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy). The specific surface area and pore volume of Fe-ZSM-5@ TiO₂ were determined by BET (Brunauer-Emmett-Teller) technique.

Results: The SEM (scanning electron microscopy) images revealed that nano-TiO2 particles are well distributed on the surface of Fe-ZSM-5 zeolite. The FT-IR analysis (Fourier Transform Infrared Radiation) approved the formation of the Fe-ZSM-5 and anatase phase of TiO₂ coating onto the surface of Fe-ZSM-5. From UV-Vis analysis (Ultra violet-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy), the band gap energy of synthesized photocatalyst was calculated to be about 2.74 eV. The optimum values of pH and dye concentration for high efficient removal of reactive red 198 dye using as-synthesized Fe-ZSM-5@ TiO₂ photocatalyst were found to be 4 and 100 mg/L, respectively. Maximum dye removal of 98% was achieved at optimum condition at UV exposure time of 105 min. The reusability of the photocatalyst was still significant after five times repeated cycles.

Conclusion: The resulting Fe-ZSM-5@ TiO₂ is believed to be suitable for potential applications in advanced oxidation processes and could be a good candidate for treatment of industrial real textile dye effluent.