A heterogeneous catalyst comprising Keggin type polyoxometalate, silicotungstic acid (SiW12), and MCM-22 was synthesized using wet impregnation method and characterized by acidity measurement, BET, FT-IR, XRD, and SEM. Their catalytic activity was evaluated for the degradation of cationic organic dyes like methylene blue (MB), crystal violet (CV), and an azo dye Chryosidine Y (CY) in an aqueous solution. The experimental parameters such as catalyst amount, initial dye concentration, and contact time were studied for the degradation of dyes, and it was found that the cationic dyes like methylene blue and crystal violet show better activity as compared to azo dye Chryosidine Y. This may be attributed to better electrostatic interaction of these cationic dyes with the residual negative surface charge of the catalyst, due to presence of SiW12 ion as it is rich in surface oxygens and surface hydroxyl groups. The control experimental results showed that the presence of SiW12 at the surface of MCM-22 promoted the degradation reactions, and presence of multiple W-O bonds in polyoxometalate also played a key role in this reaction. The catalyst exhibits recycling ability without any significant loss in activity up to four cycles.
Keywords: Dye degradation; Heterogeneous catalyst; MCM-22; Multiple dyes; Silicotungstic acid.