Development of Polythiophene/Prussian Red Nanocomposite with Dielectric, Photocatalytic and Metal Scavenging Properties

Hybrid materials of conducting polymers with coordination compound dopants offer a desirable combination of properties for targeted applications. This work presents polythiophene/prussian red (PTH/PR) nanocomposites as hybrid materials using PTH as a polymer matrix and PR nanoparticles as a readily available dopant with photo-reactive and magnetically active low-spin iron(III) complex. The PTH/PR nanocomposite was prepared by oxidative polymerization of thiophene monomers in the presence of PR nanoparticles. The synthesized material is characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, powder x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. Comparative studies of the PTH/PR nanocomposite indicate an enhancement in thermal and electrical properties compared with other PTH nanocomposites. The investigated physicochemical properties of PTH/PR suggest its suitability as a material for environmental applications, which were explored through dye photodegradation and metal ion recovery via adsorption studies. The PTH/PR nanocomposite degraded 65% of a methylene blue dye within 100 min by photo-oxidation, following pseudo-first-order kinetics. It also displayed good adsorptive tendency towards precious metal ions including Au(III), Cu(II), Pd(II) and Ag(I). This finding suggests that PTH/PR nanocomposites could constitute potent nanomaterials for water treatment.