Preparation and characterization of polypyrrole/TiO2 nanocomposites by reverse microemulsion polymerization and its photocatalytic activity for the degradation of methyl orange under natural light

PPy/TiO2 nanocomposites were successfully prepared by reverse microemulsion polymerization and used as an effective photocatalyst for the degradation of methyl orange. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) was modified by silane coupling agent to improve the dispersity before the polymerization. X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Fourier-transform infrared spectra were carried out to characterize the morphology and structure of the samples. TEM analysis shows that TiO2 particles are deposited by polypyrrole (PPy) and the existence of PPy mitigates the agglomeration of TiO2. XRD spectra reveal that the deposition of PPy does not change the structure of TiO2 particles. Uv-vis analysis shows that the PPy/TiO2 nanocomposites have a higher photocatalytic activity under natural light than neat TiO2. The highest degradation rate occurs when the mass ratio of PPy to TiO2 is kept at 0.02. POLYM. COMPOS., 34:1076-1080, 2013. (c) 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers