Stability and Synergistic Effect of Polyaniline/TiO2 Photocatalysts in Degradation of Azo Dye in Wastewater
by
Vanja Gilja 1, Katarina Novaković 1, Jadranka Travas-Sejdic 2, Zlata Hrnjak-Murgić 1
, Marijana Kraljić Roković 1 and Mark Žic 3,*
Vanja Gilja 1, Katarina Novaković 1, Jadranka Travas-Sejdic 2, Zlata Hrnjak-Murgić 1, Marijana Kraljić Roković 1 and Mark Žic 3,*
1
Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Technology, University of Zagreb, Marulićev trg 19, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
2
School of Chemical Sciences, University of Auckland, Polymer Electronics Research Centre, 23 Symonds Street, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
3
Ruđer Bošković Institute, Bijenička cesta 54, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Nanomaterials 2017, 7(12), 412; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano7120412
Received: 20 October 2017 / Revised: 16 November 2017 / Accepted: 17 November 2017 / Published: 23 November 2017
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Experimental Nanosciences, Computational Chemistry, and Data Analysis)
The polyaniline/TiO2 (PANI/TiO2) composite photocatalysts were prepared by the in situ chemical oxidation of aniline (An) in the presence of TiO2 particles. For this purpose, photocatalysts with different amounts of PANI polymer were prepared and analysed. Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and thermogravimetric (TG) analysis indicated successful synthesis of the PANI polymer and its conductivity was also determined. The micrographs of field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to explain the impact of the aniline amount on the aggregation process during the synthesis of the composites. The smallest size of aggregates was obtained for the photocatalysts with 15% of PANI (15PANI/TiO2) due to the formation of homogenous PANI. The photocatalytic activity of studied PANI/TiO2 photocatalysts was validated by monitoring the discoloration and mineralization of Reactive Red azo dye (RR45) in wastewater. The 15PANI/TiO2 sample presented the highest photocatalytic efficiency under ultraviolet A (UVA) irradiation, in comparison to pure TiO2. This was explained by the formation of uniformly dispersed PANI on the TiO2 particles, which was responsible for the synergistic PANI-TiO2 effect.
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Keywords:
wastewater treatment; Reactive Red 45; photocatalysis; UVA/Vis irradiation; polyaniline/TiO2; composite photocatalysts; in situ synthesis
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MDPI and ACS Style
Gilja, V.; Novaković, K.; Travas-Sejdic, J.; Hrnjak-Murgić, Z.; Kraljić Roković, M.; Žic, M. Stability and Synergistic Effect of Polyaniline/TiO2 Photocatalysts in Degradation of Azo Dye in Wastewater. Nanomaterials 2017, 7, 412.
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