Fe2O3 immobilized on Amberlite IRA-402 ion exchange resin as novel solar light active heterogeneous photo-Fenton catalysts for the degradation of bromophenol blue

ABSTRACT In this study, a novel solar light active photo-Fenton catalyst (Fe2O3 incorporated on Amberlite IRA-402 ion exchange resin) was synthesized via a modified sol-gel technique, designed for efficient photo-Fenton degradation of bromophenol blue (BPB) dye. The results showed that the presence of 0.4 mM of peroxymonosulfate (PMS) and 15 mg of Fe2O3-incorporated ion exchange resins (F@IER)15 significantly enhanced the solar light-initiated degradation of BPB. It was observed that in comparison with (F@IER)5, (F@IER)10, (F@IER)15 and (F@IER)20, (F@IER)15 had a high percentage degradation of BPB, i.e., 95.9% with kapp value of 0.5016 min−1. The photocatalytic degradation of BPB by solar light/(F@IER)15/PMS in acidic, basic, and neutral media was in the following order: acidic > natural > basic, with kapp values of 0.4189, 0.3324, and 0.1128 min−1 for pH 2.9, 3.4, and 8.9 correspondingly. GC–MS analysis revealed stepwise degradation of BPB into low-molecular-weight intermediates, indicating substantial mineralization. Overall, the integration of solar activation, PMS oxidation, and a resin-stabilized Fe2O3 framework provides a practical and reliable approach for the treatment of dye-contaminated wastewater in environmental applications.