TiO2/PPy nanocomposites for photocatalytic application

Abstract

Titan(IV)-oksid je jedan od najčešće korišćenih fotokatalizatora, dok za polipirol (PPy) postoje potvrde da je pogodan za ovu primenu. Cilj ovog rada bio je dobijanje kompozita TiO2/PPy sa boljom fotokatalitičkom aktivnosti u odnosu na TiO2. Kako bi se optimizovao sadržaj PPy u kompozitu, sintetisani su uzorci TiO2/x%PPy (x = 0, 0,5, 1, 1,5, 3, 5 mas.%), koji su okarakterisani TG/DTA, XRD, FTIR, FESEM i UV-Vis metodama, dok su njihova fotokatalitička svojstva ispitana kroz razgradnju tekstilne boje RO16. Nanokristalni TiO2 je dobijen u obliku anatasa veličine kristalita oko 2 nm, dok su izračunati parametri jedinične ćelije potvrdili da je kristalna struktura anatasa ostala nepromenjena nakon dodatka PPy. Gotovo svi uzorci (izuzev TiO2/3%PPy) su fotokatalitički aktivniji od TiO2, dok je TiO2/1%PPy pokazao najizraženiju fotokatalitičku aktivnost razgradivši 9 % boje nakon 75 min.

Titanium(IV) oxide is one of the most used photocatalysts while polypyrrole (PPy) is a promising material for photocatalytic application. The aim of this work was to obtain TiO2/PPy composites exhibiting higher photocatalytic activity than TiO2. In order to determine the optimal PPy content in a composite, TiO2/x%PPy (x = 0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 3, 5 wt.%) samples were synthesized and characterized by TG/DTA, XRD, FTIR, FESEM and UV-Vis methods, while the photocatalytic behavior was examined towards the degradation of the textile dye RO16. Nanocrystalline TiO2 was obtained in anatase form with crystallite size around 26 nm and preserved anatase crystal structure despite the addition of PPy according to the calculated unit cell parameters. Almost all samples (except TiO2/3%PPy) showed better photocatalytic activity than TiO2 while the best photocatalytic activity was demonstrated by TiO2/1%PPy which degraded 98 % of the dye after 75 min.