Construction of WO3–visible light–H2O2 advanced oxidation system for degradation of organic pollutant

Abstract

The escalating pollution of water resources by organic pollutants necessitates the development of efficient and eco-friendly treatment technologies. In this study, a WO₃–visible light–H₂O₂ (WO₃–Vis–H₂O₂) advanced oxidation system was constructed, and the difficult-to-degrade azo dye methyl orange (MO) was selected as the target of organic pollutants. Under the optimal conditions of the system, 97.9% of MO can be degraded under 100 min of visible light irradiation. The degradation process confirmed to the first-order kinetic equation, and the apparent rate constant k is 0.03909 min⁻¹. The degradation efficiency of MO by this system was 5.54 times higher than that of WO₃ photocatalytic degradation of MO. Free radical capture experiments proved that ·OH was the main active species. The system realized the effect of the iron-free heterogeneous photo-Fenton reaction, and WO₃ can be reused. This work not only presents a green and sustainable approach to the degradation of organic pollutants but also highlights the potential of visible light catalyst–visible–H₂O₂ system for broader environmental remediation applications.