Moones Honarmand - Department of Chemical Engineering, Birjand University of Technology, Birjand, Iran
Majid Mahjoore - Department of Mining Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Birjand, Birjand, Iran

Excessive use and discharge of organic pollutants inevitably lead to their accumulation in the environment and bring considerable environmental risks. Innovative methods based on nanotechnology for wastewater treatment processes have been increasing in recent years. In this work, cobalt oxide (Co۳O۴) nanoparticles have been synthesized via a green and simple route and used as the effective photocatalyst for the degradation of bromocresol green. Approximately ۸۸% of bromocresol green was degraded in the presence Co۳O۴ nanoparticles after ۵ hours under sunlight. The kinetic studies showed that photocatalytic degradation process followed the pseudo-first-order kinetic model. The photocatalytic performance of Co۳O۴ nanoparticles was evaluated for the treatment of natural wastewater, and the obtained results showed that this system could remove ۷۸% of organic dye within ۵ hours. The promising points for this study were the easy operation, simple equipment, good catalytic performance, cleaner reaction profile and environmentally friendly reaction conditions. The obtained results showed that Co۳O۴ nanoparticles were an efficient catalyst that could be employed for the photodegradation of different types of organic pollutants.

Cobalt oxide, nanotechnology, Organic dye, Photodegradation