An analytical study of the electrochemical degradation of methyl orange using a novel polymer disk electrode

• In this paper, the authors presents novel polymer desk electrode using an injection molding technique.
• The electrodes are low cost, mass produced, and efficient for degradation of dyes, compared to previous studies in the field.
• Complete decolorization of solution containing methyl orange was achieved in only 800 s.
• The treatment technique involves the electro-oxidation of KCl solution on the polymer electrode.
• The utilized technique is simple and rapid for dye degradation.
• The energy consumption is very low compared to previously published work in this field.

This study presents the degradation of methyl orange in a synthetic solution using an electro-oxidation technique. A novel polymer disk electrode was fabricated in this work using injection molding. Such an electrode is low cost, mass produced, and efficient to achieve a complete decolorization of methyl orange in the synthetic solution. The performance of the electrode was studied comprehensively. The degradation of methyl orange was accomplished in only 800 s. at optimum operating conditions of 0.1 M KCl electrolyte solution and constant applied current of 5 mA. The results revealed that the degradation of dye follows an indirect electro oxidation mechanism. It was also found that stirring is a crucial requirement to improve the mass transfer and to enhance the decolorization rate. The effect of changing the applied current, supporting electrolyte, electrolyte concentration, and initial dye concentration were also investigated.