The influence of dyes on the Fenton reaction of organiccompounds under visible irradiation (
mages/gifchars/lambda.gif" BORDER=0 > > 450 nm) wasexamined. It was found that the presence of dyes couldaccelerate greatly the Fenton reaction of organic compoundssuch as salicylic acid, sodium benzenesulfonate, benzyltrimethylammonium chloride, and trichloroacetic acid undervisible irradiation and that a complete mineralization ofthose compounds could also be achieved. The dyes suchas Alizarin Violet 3B which has an anthraquinone structureunit showed much more significant effect on the reactionthan the dyes such as
malachite green without thequinone unit. A reaction mechanism of dye AV as acocatalyst in the photo-Fenton reaction of organic compoundsunder visible irradiation is proposed based on the cycleof Fe
3+/Fe
2+ catalyzed by quinone species and an electrontransfer from the excited dye molecule to Fe
3+.