Nandini Venkat Iyer; Jayant A Kher; Shekhar D Bhame
Abstract
The present study features the synthesis of Dodecylbenzene sulphonic acid-doped polypyrrole tungsten oxide (PPy-WO3) nanocomposites and its photocatalyic studies on Methylene Blue (MB). The nanocomposites of PPy with a very low concentration of WO3 were prepared using 0.05 to 0.3 wt.%, of WO3 nanoparticles. ...
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The present study features the synthesis of Dodecylbenzene sulphonic acid-doped polypyrrole tungsten oxide (PPy-WO3) nanocomposites and its photocatalyic studies on Methylene Blue (MB). The nanocomposites of PPy with a very low concentration of WO3 were prepared using 0.05 to 0.3 wt.%, of WO3 nanoparticles. The composites were characterized by using-ray Diffraction, FTIR and FESEM for phase identification, morphological studies. The electrical conduction of the nanostructured materials at room temperature exceeded that of PPy, with the electrical conductivity increasing linearly with higher WO3 concentrations. The band gap for the nanocomposite was found to be 2.12eV. The PL spectra substantiated the adequate segregation of charge carriers photoexcited in the samples. The nanocomposites were tested as photocatalysts for the degradation of methylene blue dye (MB). A two-step mechanism has been propsed for dye removal: adsorption (in the absence of UV light) and photodegradation on the photocatalyst surface (in the presence of UV light). The maximum removal efficiency for methylene blue dye was 98.31% in UV light for 0.16 g/L of the 0.3 wt.% PPy- WO3 nanocomposite, with a dye concentration of 5 mg/L. The addition of p-benzoquinone (*O2- scavenger) contributed to a significant decrease in the photodegradation efficiency of the catalyst, i.e.,63.21%, and thus can be believed as the main active species for the degradation of the methylene blue dye.
Nandini V Iyer; Ganesh Agawane; Abhishjek Bhapkar; Jayant Kher; Shekhar Bhame
Abstract
In this paper, we report, the synthesis of conducting polymer nanocomposites of nickel oxide polypyrrole (NiO-PPy) doped with dodecyl benzene sulphonic acid for its application as a photocatalyst. In-situ polymerization of the pyrrole technique was employed along with oxidant ammonium persulphate and ...
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In this paper, we report, the synthesis of conducting polymer nanocomposites of nickel oxide polypyrrole (NiO-PPy) doped with dodecyl benzene sulphonic acid for its application as a photocatalyst. In-situ polymerization of the pyrrole technique was employed along with oxidant ammonium persulphate and dodecyl benzene sulphonic acid as a dopant. The nanostructures were synthesized at different concentrations of NiO nanoparticles viz. 0.05 wt.%, 0.1 wt.%, 0.2 wt.% and 0.3 wt.%. The development of nanostructures was explored by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrophotometer, Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope, X-ray diffraction spectrometer, and electrical conductivity measurements. FTIR studies revealed a shift in the absorption band when pure PPy and NiO-PPy nanocomposites were studied, exhibiting the substantial interaction between the PPy network and the NiO. FE-SEM analysis demonstrated the consistent distribution of NiO with globular-shaped metal oxide materials in the PPy host template. The XRD studies for pure PPy revealed its amorphous nature while nanocomposites indicated the prominent NiO peaks arising from (111), (200) and (220) planes. The nanocomposites' direct electrical conductivity at room temperature was much higher than pure PPy. It was observed that the electrical conductivity for pure PPy was 0.409×10-5 S/cm while it substantially increased to 4.2×10-5 (S/cm) for 0.3% nanocomposite. The electrical studies revealed that the electrical conductivity goes on increasing with increased NiO concentration and then after a saturation point more PPy encapsulates the NiO and in turn reduces the electrical conductivity. With 50 mg of 0.3% nanocomposite, the photocatalytic degradation of the Methylene-Blue dye was 84.98%.