Mohammad Ilbeigi Asl - Faculty of Nanotechnology, Semnan University, Semnan, Iran
Mohsen Mehdipour Ghazi - Faculty of Chemical, Petroleum and Gas Engineering, Semnan University, Semnan, Iran
Mansour Jahangiri - Faculty of Chemical, Petroleum and Gas Engineering, Semnan University, Semnan, Iran

This study investigated the photo-degradation of methyl orange (MO) as a type of azo dye using a CuO/α-Fe2O3 nanocomposite. A CuO/α-Fe2O3 powder with a crystalline size in the range of 27-49 nm was successfully prepared using simple coprecipitation along with a sonication method. The characterization of the synthesized sample was done via XRD, FE-SEM, EDS, FTIR and DRS analyses. The Tauc equation revealed that the band gap of the nano composite in the direct mood was 2.05 ev, which is in the visible light range. The effect of operating factors containing dye concentration, photocatalyst dosage and pH on dye degradation efficiency was measured. Response Surface Method (RSM) was employed to specify the parameter effects. The photocatalytic activity of the CuO/α-Fe2O3 nanocomposite was evaluated by degradation of MO under visible light irradiation. The results showed that the pH value played a very effective role in the dye degradation process efficiency. Also, the photocatalytic degradation of MO obtained was equal to 88.47% in the optimal values.

CuO/α-Fe2O3،Methyl orange ،Nano composite ،Photodegradation،Response Surface Method (RSM)