Adsorptive removal and photo-Fenton degradation of Congo red dye from water using modified Gadolinium orthoferrite ☆

GdFeO3-incoporated zeolite (GFO/Z) was successfully prepared by impregnation method following by calcination process and used for adsorption and photo-Fenton degradation of Congo red (CR). The as-prepared GFO/Z material were characterized by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), BET surface area, and optical absorption spectra (UV-Vis). The large specific surface area and accessible pores supported its high performance towards adsorption of Congo Red. Besides, due to its low band gap energy, the photo-Fenton catalytic activities of GFO/Z were also investigated for the degradation of CR under visible light irradiation. The use of GFO/Z lead to a high removal rate (97.46 %) of CR thanks to the synergistic effect between effective dark adsorption and visible light-driven Fenton degradation, which was greater than those of pure GFO.