Preparation, characterization and photocatalytic properties of polythiophene-sensitized zinc oxide hybrid nanocomposites

The composites of polythiophene (PT)/zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles with different PT wt %, (2%, 4%, 6%, 10% and 20%), were synthesized by an in situ chemical oxidative polymerization method. Zinc oxide nanoparticles, prepared by polymer pyrolysis method, with average particle size of 30 nm were used as inorganic phase of these composites. The particle size of ZnO powder was measured by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). FTIR measurements and X-ray diffraction analyses showed that PT/ZnO composites were successfully synthesized. Optical properties of the prepared composites were investigated by diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) that showed a broad peak in the visible region. The morphologies of the obtained composites were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Also Barrett-Emmett-Teller (BET) technique was used to measure the specific surface area of the samples. The photocatalytic activities of the composites were evaluated by degradation of methyl orange (MO) aqueous solution under visible light (9 W LED lamp) and sunlight irradiation. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.