Preparation of photo-Fenton heterogeneous catalyst (Fe-TS-1 zeolite) and its application in typical azo dye decoloration

[Display omitted] •Catalysts of Fe-TS-1 with different amounts of iron addition were synthesized.•The active sites of Ti atoms in the framework of TS-1 were not damaged by the introduction of iron ions.•The Fe-TS-1 had the synergistic catalysis of the Fe2O3 and the TS-1.•The Fe-TS-1 had better visible light response and wide range of pH suitability. The titanium silicate (TS-1) molecular sieve and Fe-loading TS-1 (Fe-TS-1) with various mass ratios of Fe and TS-1 (Q = m (Fe): m (TS-1)) were prepared successfully. The X-ray fluorescence (XRF), ultraviolet-visible (UV–vis), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), BET specific surface area analyzer and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques were used to characterize the prepared catalysts. The catalytic activity of the Fe-TS-1 for the acid orange 7 (AO7) decoloration under radiation of different light sources and the vital operational parameters as Q, additive amount of the catalyst and the initial solution pH value have been extensively studied. The obtained results showed that there was a synergistic catalysis of the Fe-TS-1 catalyst, the optimum values of the Q and the initial solution pH value was 0.15 and 3, respectively. The degradation of the AO7 was positive correlation with the additive amount of the Fe-TS-1 catalyst. The Fe-TS-1 catalyst also had better visible light response in the photocatalytic system. Furthermore, the process of mineralization was also evaluated by analyzing total organic carbon (TOC) values and the results indicated that 99.9% TOC removal could be achieved at the optimal condition after 40 min reaction.