Abstract

The discharge of persistent organic dyes from industrial wastewater into aquatic environments poses a significant environmental threat, creating an urgent need for advanced and sustainable treatment technologies. Among emerging solutions, iron-based Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) have shown great promise as efficient photocatalysts. However, the synergistic effects of Materials Institute Lavoisier (MIL)-53(Fe) combined with hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) under visible light irradiation for dye degradation remain poorly understood. To address this gap, this study systematically investigates the photocatalytic degradation of Methyl Orange (MO) using a MIL-53(Fe) photocatalyst activated with H₂O₂ under visible light. The MIL-53(Fe) material was synthesized and characterized using Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) to confirm its structural and morphological properties. The photocatalytic performance was assessed by optimizing key parameters, including the initial pH and H₂O₂ dosage. Kinetic analyses and comparative experiments were conducted to elucidate the degradation mechanism. Results demonstrated a remarkable 98.75% degradation of MO within 60 min, following pseudo-first-order kinetics. This performance significantly outperformed visible light irradiation alone, which achieved only 10.71% degradation. Mechanistic studies further revealed that hydroxyl radicals (•OH) and photo-generated holes (h+) are the primary reactive species driving the degradation process. These findings highlight the high efficiency and tunability of MIL-53(Fe) as an environmentally benign photocatalyst. The study highlights its potential application in advanced wastewater treatment technologies under solar-simulated conditions, providing a scalable and sustainable approach for dye mineralization in industrial effluents.