Microwave Enhanced Catalytic Degradation of Methyl Orange in Aqueous Solution over CuO/CeO2Catalyst in the Absence and Presence of H2O2

This work focuses on the microwave enhanced catalytic degradation of methyl orange (MO) in aqueous solution over CuO/CeO2 catalyst in the absence and presence of H2O2. The prepared CuO/CeO2 catalysts were characterized with X-ray diffraction, Brunnauer-Emmett-Teller analysis, temperature-programmed reduction, and temperature-programmed desorption techniques to elucidate the effect of calcination temperature on its properties and catalytic performance. The results show that calcination temperature exerts remarkable influence on the catalytic performance of CuO/CeO2, with that calcined at 300 °C displaying the highest MO degradation ability. On the basis of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurement results, the mechanism of MO degradation under microwave irradiation in the presence of both CuO/CeO2 and H2O2 was suggested. A synergistic rather than additive effect of catalyst, microwave irradiation, and H2O2 contributes to the high degradation activity toward MO.