Fabrication of nanocomposite polyaniline zirconium(IV) silicophosphate for photocatalytic and antimicrobial activity

Polyaniline zirconium(IV) silicophosphate (PANI-ZSP) nanocomposite ion exchanger was prepared using sol-gel method by mixing polyaniline (PANI) gel into the inorganic precipitates of zirconium(IV) silicophosphate (ZSP). The nanocomposite ion exchanger was characterized by techniques such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The thermal stability, elution behaviour, concentration behaviour and acid-base properties of nanocomposite ion exchanger were investigated. The study revealed that PANI-ZSP nancomposite material exhibit higher ion exchange capacity (1.05 meq/g) compared to its inorganic counterpart ZSP (0.65 meq/g). The PANI-ZSP nanocomposite ion exchanger was thermally stable and retained about 47.16% of ion exchange capacity up to 300 degrees C. The PANI-ZSP nanocomposite ion exchanger was utilized as photocatalyst for remediation of methylene blue dye from water. A degradation efficiency of 82% was achieved in two hours of exposure. Nanocomposite ion exchanger has been successfully used as antibacterial agent against Escherichia coli (E. coli). (C) 2013 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.