Sunlight photodecolorization of a mixture of Methyl Orange and Bromocresol Green by CuS incorporated in a clinoptilolite zeolite as a heterogeneous catalyst

Photocatalytic activity of CuS incorporated into an Iranian clinoptilolite (CuS-Cp) was studied for decolorization of a mixture of Methyl Orange and Bromocresol Green under sunlight irradiation. All samples were characterized by XRD, FTIR, DRS and TG/DTG techniques. The effect of some key experimental parameters such as: amount of the catalyst (0.05–5 g L−1), initial concentration of dyes (5–30 mg L−1), solution pH (1–11) and also dosage of H2O2 and KBrO3 was studied on the decolorization extent. The extent of decolorization was estimated from the residual concentration by spectrophotometrically and it was confirmed by the reduction of chemical oxygen demand (COD).