Enhanced X-RAYS degradation of methylene blue in the presence of gold microspheres

Abstract Promising alternatives to increase the degradation of dyes in polluted water are radiation and the addition of particulate materials as catalysts. Specifically, gold particles have demonstrated an enhancement of dye degradation in the presence of UV light and/or reducing agents by increasing the rate at which reactive oxygen species are produced. Herein, the enhanced decomposition of methylene blue (MB) under ionizing radiation, X-rays, in the presence of gold particles was investigated. The influence of X-ray operating voltage, gold particle size distribution, and gold concentration in the degradation of MB was studied. Irradiation of MB was performed at a dose rate of ~35 Gy/min and X-ray irradiator operating voltages of 50 kV, 100 kV, and 225 kV. The presence of spherical gold microparticles enhanced the reaction rate of MB up to 61.7%. Results showed that dye degradation combining ionizing radiation and a catalyst such as gold particles is a promising methodology to accelerate the clean-up process of polluted water resources.