Journal
POLYMERS
Volume 13, Issue 8, Pages -Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/polym13081215
Keywords
photocatalytic degradation; azo-dyes; photo-induced isomerization; self-assembly; polymer nanocomposites
Categories
Funding
- NSF-MRI [1827839]
- endowed Buckman Chair award from the University of New Haven
- Division Of Chemistry
- Direct For Mathematical & Physical Scien [1827839] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
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Specially designed polymer nanocomposites can effectively degrade azo dyes in wastewater and textile effluents through photocatalysis, with TiO2-based nanocomposites showing outstanding performance. Other nanocomposites based on natural polymers and various oxides have also been extensively studied for their enhanced photocatalytic efficiency. These nanocomposites improve photocatalysis by stabilizing excited electrons in the conducting band and reducing band energy of semiconductors through formation of nanocomposites.
Specially designed polymer nanocomposites can photo-catalytically degrade azo dyes in wastewater and textile effluents, among which TiO2-based nanocomposites are outstanding and extensively explored. Other nanocomposites based on natural polymers (i.e., chitosan and kaolin) and the oxides of Al, Au, B, Bi, Fe, Li, and Zr are commonly used. These nanocomposites have better photocatalytic efficiency than pure TiO2 through two considerations: (i) reducing the hole/electron recombination rate by stabilizing the excited electron in the conducting band, which can be achieved in TiO2-nanocomposites with graphene, graphene oxide, hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), metal nanoparticles, or doping; (ii) decreasing the band energy of semiconductors by forming nanocomposites between TiO2 and other oxides or conducting polymers. Increasing the absorbance efficiency by forming special nanocomposites also increases photocatalytic performance. The photo-induced isomerization is exploited in biological systems, such as artificial muscles, and in technical fields such as memory storage and liquid crystal display. Heteroaryl azo dyes show remarkable shifts in photo-induced isomerization, which can be applied in biological and technical fields in place of azo dyes. The self-assembly methods can be employed to synthesize azo-dye polymer nanocomposites via three types of interactions: electrostatic interactions, London forces or dipole/dipole interactions between azo dyes, and photo alignments.
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