Enhanced photocatalytic performance of PANI-rGO-MnO2 ternary composite for degradation of organic contaminants under visible light. Issue 5 (October 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Park, Yuri; Numan, Arshid; Ponomarev, Nikolai; Iqbal, Javed; Khalid, Mohammad
• Is Part Of: Journal of environmental chemical engineering. Volume 9:Issue 5(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-10
• Subjects: Polyaniline -- Graphene-based nanocomposite -- Visible light -- Photocatalyst -- Cationic dye; Chemical engineering -- Environmental aspects -- Periodicals; Environmental engineering -- Periodicals; Chemical engineering -- Environmental aspects; Environmental engineering; Periodicals; 660.0286
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jece.2021.106006
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2213-2929

Abstract

Abstract: This work examines the potential of conducting polymers with transition metal oxides as a photocatalyst in environmental remediation. A visible light-responsive ternary composite of PANI-rGO-MnO2 was synthesized and evaluated its photocatalytic activity of a cationic dye (i.e., methylene blue, MB) in an aqueous solution. The surface morphologies and structural properties of the synthesized PANI, PANI-rGO, and PANI-rGO-MnO2 were examined. In the case of ternary composite, the successful growth/incorporation of MnO2 nanoparticles into the PANI-rGO composite was demonstrated. Furthermore, the lowered optical band gap of the ternary composite illustrates the extended light absorption range for the PANI-rGO-MnO2 photocatalyst. The photocatalytic experiments show that the PANI-rGO-MnO2 ternary composite exhibited significantly enhanced catalytic and photocatalytic activity for 90% degradation of methylene blue (MB) under visible light irradiation within 2 h. It could be attributed to synergistic effects by (i) facilitating the electron transfer from excited by reduced graphene oxide from the excited dye to PANI-MnO2 and (ii) reducing the recombination of photogenerated electron/hole pairs originating from the heterostructure of the ternary composite. The present work provides new insights into the synthesis of conducting polymer PANI, PANI-rGO, and the ternary composite of PANI-rGO-MnO2 as an efficient photocatalyst, and the developed composites would have potential applications in environmental remediation related fields. Graphical Abstract: ga1 Highlights: PANI-rGO binary composite was prepared by polymerization of aniline with rGO. PANI-rGO based ternary composite was synthesized by incorporating with MnO2 . Photocatalytic activity of the composites was tested for methylene blue dye degradation. 90% degradation of MB by PANI-rGO-MnO2 composite was achieved within 2 hr at pH 7. PANI-rGO-MnO2 was an efficient photocatalyst under visible light irradiation.