Electrochemical Degradation of Methylene Blue using Aluminum Doped Copper Oxide Electrode: Modeling and Optimization

An electrochemical oxidation process with an aluminum-doped copper oxide (Al@CuO) anode was modeled and optimized for the degradation of methylene blue (MB). The Al@CuO anode material was prepared by the thermal decomposition method. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis confirmed the successful deposition of CuO on the aluminum substrate. The influence of current density, electrolysis time, and MB concentration on the performance of the electrochemical degradation of MB was modeled using Box-Behnken design (BBD). The accuracy of the proposed quadratic model by BBD was confirmed with a p-value < 0.0001 and adj-R2 > 0.9. The optimum MB degradation efficiency of 53.23 % was obtained at 80 mg MB concentration, 40 min electrolysis time, and 3.75 V applied current. The kinetics on the MB electrochemical degradation process using Al@CuO followed pseudo first-order kinetics model. These studies revealed that the Al@CuO anode electrode is not a promising anode for the electrochemical degradation of methylene blue.