Adsorption and Photodegradation of Lanasol Yellow 4G in Aqueous Solution by Natural Zeolite Treated by CO-Laser Radiation.

Natural zeolite is a widely used material with excellent environmental cleaning performance, especially in water and wastewater treatment. Natural zeolite (Z) calcined by CO-laser radiation (ZL) was tested as a catalyst for the photodegradation and the adsorption of industrial azo dye Lanasol Yellow 4G (LY4G) in water. Morphology, chemical structure, and surface composition of Z and ZL were analyzed by XRD, SEM, EDS, and XPS. UV/Visible spectrophotometry was used to evaluate the photocatalytic activity of Z and ZL. The photocatalytic activity of the studied zeolites was associated with the presence of Fe oxides in their composition. Laser-treated natural zeolite showed higher efficiency as a photocatalyst compared to untreated natural zeolite.