Loading of nickel phthalocyanine onto functionalized mesoporous KIT-6 solid support: an efficient visible photocatalyst for the degradation of 2,4-dichlorophenol

2,4-Dichlorophenol (DCP) is one of the high-risk sources of contaminating water resources, which is very difficult for biodegradation. In this contribution, sulfonated nickel phthalocyanine (NiPcS) was loaded onto mesoporous KIT-6 through functionalization of the solid support and electrostatic anchorage of the dye. The materials were characterized using standard instrumental methods in every step of the preparation. High catalytic activity was noticed for the degradation of DCP under visible light. The results showed that the photocatalyst had converted nearly 90% of DCP under visible light with optimum operating conditions of 25 mg of catalyst, natural pH (pH 6), and 30 mg L−1 of DCP also, chemical oxygen demand (COD) were determined. The photo-degradation rate of DCP fits well with the pseudo first-order kinetics and, the nonlinear least-squares analysis, which is common for photocatalytic reactions. The catalyst reusing is simple and it was found that it remarkably preserves 94% of its activity following four consecutive cycles of use.