Ecofriendly Zinc Oxide-Decorated Poly-3-hydroxyalkanoate-graft-Poly-Methyl Acrylate Copolymer Film for Photocatalysis-Mediated Water Treatment

The application of microbiologically produced polymer, i.e., medium-chain-length poly-3-hydroxyalkanoate (mcl-PHA), in environmental remediation technology was investigated. Mcl-PHA and its graft copolymer, polyhydroxyalkanoate-g-polymethylacrylate (PHA-g-PMA), were used as the supporting matrices to hold zinc oxide microparticles (ZnO MPs). The polymer composites, i.e., neat PHA/ZnO and PHA-g-PMA/ZnO, were tested as the catalytic support materials to enhance photodegradation of an organic dye, i.e., methylene blue (MB). PHA-g-PMA/ZnO film composite yields a significant MB photodegradation compared to the neat PHA/ZnO composite. Photodegradation performance was investigated as MB removal percentage (%) and rate constant of photocatalysis reaction (k). The enhanced photocatalytic performance in PHA-g-PMA is discussed.

Automated summary

The application of microbiologically produced polymer, mcl-PHA, and its graft copolymer, PHA-g-PMA, as supporting matrices for holding zinc oxide microparticles in environmental remediation technology was investigated. The composite PHA-g-PMA/ZnO showed significantly enhanced photodegradation of methylene blue compared to the neat PHA/ZnO composite, indicating improved photocatalytic performance.