Green Oxidative Degradation of Methyl Orange with Copper(II) Schiff Base Complexes as Photo‐Fenton‐Like Catalysts

Abstract

Abstract Two copper(II) complexes, namely [Cu(HL)Cl] ( 1 ) and [Cu(HL)Br] ( 2 ), where HL is the multidentate Schiff base N ‐[(2‐oxy‐acetate)benzyl]‐2‐aminothanol, were synthesized and fully characterized. The Cu II ions in 1 and 2 are pentacoordinate and the coordination arrangement is best described as distorted square‐pyramidal. The degradation of methyl orange (MO) was investigated using 1 and 2 as homogeneous photo‐Fenton‐like catalysts. 1 and 2 exhibited similar catalytic activity at neutral pH. The results suggest that they have advantages on catalyzing efficient degradation of organic dye through photo‐Fenton‐like reaction.