Decolorization of Reactive Blue 220 aqueous solution using fungal synthesized Co3O4 nanoparticles

Abstract

In this work, the photocatalytic activity of the biosynthesized cobalt oxide (Co3O4) nanoparticle (NP) is investigated using a textile dye Reactive Blue 220 (RB220) and decolorization % was monitored using UV–Vis spectrophotometer. The photocatalytic activity has been observed maximum at alkaline pH of 9, NP dosage of 250 mg/L, and reaction time of 270 min. In the presence of UV light irradiation, a maximum dye concentration of 10 mg/L was treated effectively using 150 mg/L NP, and 67% decolorization was achieved. Reaction kinetics has been analyzed, and the reaction followed the pseudo kinetics model with an activation energy of 484 kJ mol1. © 2020 IWA Publishing.