The decolorization of three monoazo dyes (acid orange 7, direct orange 34, and methyl orange), one diazo dye (direct yellow 86) and one tetraazo dye (direct red 80) were mediated by n-type semiconductors as ZnO and TiO2 under pseudo-first order conditions at 30 ºC. The decolorization rate constants of these azo dyes were determined, varying the semiconductor concentration for the majority of them from 1.0 to 10.0 g L-1. In general, the highest rate constants were displayed for ZnO. This work elucidates that the decolorization capacity depends on the charge, structure, and adsorption of the azo dye on the semiconductor surface as well as the agglomeration of the photocatalyst particles.

ZnO and Ag-ZnO were synthesized in a simple and efficient manner by thermal decomposition of zinc oxalate and silver/zinc mixed oxalate. The influence of the addition of metallic silver on ZnO particles and the effect of temperature in the thermal treatment were investigated. The samples were characterized by thermogravimetric analysis, Raman, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, specific surface area (Brunauer-Emmett-Teller) and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The photocatalytic activity of these materials in the decolorization of direct red 23 diazo dye was studied. The complete conversion into oxides from oxalates at lower temperatures was determinant in the photocatalytic efficiency of both the oxides. The presence of silver in zinc oxide, treated at 400 °C, more than doubled the rate constant of diazo dye decolorization (6.87×10-3 min-1) with respect to ZnO, treated at 600 °C, resulting in 3.07×10-3 min-1 under UV irradiation at 30 °C.

Zinc oxide, an n-type semiconductor, has been used as photocatalyst for contaminated water purification by organic compounds. The addition of a p-type semiconductor as copper oxide could increase the catalytic efficiency through the p-n junction in order to decrease the electron-hole recombination. In this work, zinc and copper oxides containing 1.0, 3.0, and 5.0 % of copper were prepared by manual grinding, followed by heat treatment at 300°C during 5 h. The zinc oxide and copper oxide mixture as well as their precursors were characterized by x-ray diffraction, diffuse reflectance, scanning electron microscopy, and x-ray fluorescence. The photocatalytic efficiency was verified by the direct red 80 tetraazodye decolorization using UV radiation under pseudo-first order conditions at natural pH (7.5-8.0) and 30 °C. The highest photocatalytic activity occurred to the semiconductor containing 1.0 % copper oxide, whose decolorization rate constant was equivalent to 6.40×10-2 min-1, that is, 17.4 % larger in comparison to ZnO, 5.45×10-2 min-1.

The photodecolorization of the azo dye Direct Orange 34 (DO34) was investigated in TiO2 aqueous suspensions with artificial irradiation at 30°C. The experimental conditions were optimized by a 2(5) factorial design, using the decolorization percentage after 240 min irradiation as the response. The five factors considered were DO34 and TiO2 concentrations, stirring speed, air saturation, and adsorption time. The addition of hydrogen peroxide and sodium periodate as oxidants increased the decolorization rate.

The decolorization of acid orange 7 azo dye by photolysis and photocatalysis by ZnO was investigated in the presence of oxidants such as NaClO3, NaBrO3, NaIO4, and K2S2O8 in an open reactor at 30 ºC. The decolorization was relatively fast at lower oxidants concentrations and slow rate at larger concentrations, except for persulfate in the photocatalysis. Concerning photolysis the rate constant enhanced gradually, except for chlorate, outreaching the obtained values by photocatalysis, at higher concentrations. The air saturation decreased the rate constant in both processes and indicated that the azo dye can be decolorized without dissolved oxygen in persulfate medium.

The photocatalytic degradation of aqueous solution of commercial azo textile dye, direct red 23 (DR23), was carried out in TiO2 suspension at 30°C with the use of artificial and solar light sources. The photoreaction followed the first-order behavior with respect to the azo dye as a function of irradiation time. A 2³ factorial design was carried out, in order to obtain the best experimental conditions, using the rate constant of DR23 degradation as the analytical response. Seven chemical species were determined from the normalized UV-Vis spectra during the DR23 degradation through Imbrie Q mode factor analysis followed by varimax and Imbrie oblique rotations. The addition of electron acceptors, such as H2O2, S2Os2-, and ClO3- on the optimized conditions, was carried out to increase the DR23 degradation rate. Comparison of degradation efficiencies under artificial and solar radiation was examined in the presence of oxidants.

The decolorization and degradation of direct red 23 azo dye have been investigated in aqueous suspension of titanium dioxide under artificial irradiation. The effects of some operational parameters such as azo dye concentration, catalyst loading, and solution pH were investigated at 30.0 ºC and optimized values were obtained. The first-order kinetic model was used to discuss the results. The UV-Vis spectra changes showed that the azo dye sample, collected after 6 h irradiation, was 98% decolorized while the residual total carbon was 97.9% degraded, indicating simultaneous photodecolorization and degradation.

The atrazine photoelectrochemical degradation has been examined in solutions containing TiO2 on immobilized films under a variety of experimental conditions. It was possible to observe that the supporting electrolyte nature affects the intensity of the photocurrent, being an indicative of the adsorption process. The disappearance of the organic molecule follows approximately a pseudo-first order kinetic. As mineralization product, NH4+ and NO3- ion have been identified. These results indicated that the formation of NH4+ ion can be associated to the effect of atrazine adsorption, due to need of potential adaptation together with a variation in the supporting electrolyte concentration.