ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Mar. Sci.
Sec. Marine Pollution
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmars.2025.1624235
This article is part of the Research TopicEnvironmental Behavior Processes and Mechanisms of Organic Pollutants in Global Coastal WatersView all 5 articles
Sunlight-Driven Degradation of Acid Red 14 Using a ZnO-Doped Carbon-Ammonia Composite: Kinetics, Equilibrium, and Thermodynamic Studies
Provisionally accepted
- 1National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries (NIOF), Alexandria, Egypt
- 2Environment and Bio-agriculture Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, cairo, Egypt
- 34. Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman Univer-sity, P.O.Box 84428,, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia
- 4Department of Integrative Agriculture, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, United Arab Emirates University, P.O. Box 15551,, Al Ain, Abu Dhabi,, United Arab Emirates
- 5National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries (NIOF), Cairo, Egypt
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To identify the efficacy of a ZnO-doped activated carbon-ammonia (AC-ZnO-NH3) composite on photocatalytic degradation of Acid Red 14 (AR14) dye from aqueous solutions, the compositional and structural properties of the assembled composite were evaluated by FTIR, XRD, SEM and EDX. The material was synthesized and characterized using FTIR, XRD, SEM, and EDX, confirming the successful incorporation of ZnO and nitrogen functionalities. The composite achieved a maximum AR14 removal efficiency of 95.55% under optimal conditions (pH 3, catalyst dose of 0.18 g, and dye concentration of 25 mg/L). The kinetic data fitted well with the pseudo-second-order model, suggesting chemisorption as the primary mechanism. Adsorption equilibrium followed the Henderson isotherm model, indicating a heterogeneous surface. Thermodynamic analysis revealed that the process is endothermic and spontaneous at higher temperatures, with positive ΔH° and negative ΔG° values. Additionally, the presence of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) enhanced photocatalytic efficiency by reducing the dye's half-life from 382.9 min to 289.3 min. The composite exhibited partial reusability across three cycles, supporting its potential for practical application. These findings highlight the composite's effectiveness as a sustainable and cost-efficient photocatalyst for azo dye removal under natural sunlight.
Keywords: photocatalysis, Azo dye degradation, Acid red 14, ZnO-Doped Activated Carbon, wastewater treatment, Sunlight irradiation
Received: 07 May 2025; Accepted: 18 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 E. Alprol, Bakr, Al-saeedi, El-Haroun and Ashour. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Ahmed E. Alprol, National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries (NIOF), Alexandria, Egypt
Ehab El-Haroun, Department of Integrative Agriculture, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, United Arab Emirates University, P.O. Box 15551,, Al Ain, Abu Dhabi,, United Arab Emirates
Mohamed Ashour, National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries (NIOF), Cairo, Egypt
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