Integration of surface plasmon resonance and photocatalytic activity with Fenton-like advanced oxidation process for effective regeneration of SiO2-Ag nanocomposite in basic dye removal via adsorption

Abstract

Existing regeneration techniques, utilized for silica (SiO2)-based organic dye adsorbents, are associated with several limitations. Hence, the regeneration of SiO2-Ag (10 wt%) nanocomposite, as a dye adsorbent, has been demonstrated here via the integration of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) of Ag0 and photocatalytic activity (PCA) of Ag2O with Fenton-like advanced oxidation process (AOP) under the visible light and solar irradiations to obtain the regeneration efficiency (RE) values of 65 % and 102 %. The addition of H2O2 and PS under the visible light irradiation is noted to increase the RE to 116 % and 123 %; while, that under the solar radiation, it is noted to increase the RE to 126 %. The regeneration of SiO2-Ag (10 wt%) nanocomposite obtained via the integration of weak SPR effect with Fenton-like AOP under the visible light irradiation is as effective as the integration of PCA with Fenton-like AOP under the solar irradiation.