Degradation of Malachite green using heterogeneous nanophotocatalysts (NiO/TiO2, CuO/TiO2) under solar and microwave irradiation

Heterogeneous photocatalysis is an advanced oxidation process (AOP). This technique is used to degrade a wide range of pollutants in water. In this study, photocatalytic oxidation and mineralization of malachite green in an aqueous suspension containing nickel-based catalysts and copper supported on TiO2 prepared by wet diffusional impregnation was studied using two sources of irradiation: solar and microwave. Photodegradation kinetics were studied according to several parameters, such as catalyst type, dye concentration, photocatalyst mass and microwave power. The results showed that the photodegradation of malachite green is faster in the presence of CuO/TiO2 catalyst than NiO/TiO2 catalyst than TiO2. Dye degradation by microwave irradiation is faster than that by solar irradiation.