Synthesis and characterization of recyclable PVA/SrTiO3/Ag2O composite with photocatalytic degradation performance of methylene blue

The recyclable polyvinyl alcohol/strontium titanate/silver oxide (PVA/SrTiO3/Ag2O) composite with photocatalytic performance is successfully synthesized using the co-precipitation and sol-gel methods. The composition, morphology and optical properties on the composites are analyzed with the X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry, fluorescence spectrophotometry and electron paramagnetic resonance. The photocatalytic degradation efficiency of PVA/SrTiO3/Ag2O composite to 20 ppm methylene blue (MB) under UV light reaches 88%. The effects of the initial MB concentration and pH on the photocatalytic performance are analyzed. The recyclability of catalyst is evaluated.

Automated summary

In this study, a recyclable polyvinyl alcohol/strontium titanate/silver oxide (PVA/SrTiO3/Ag2O) composite with photocatalytic performance was successfully synthesized. The composite showed high efficiency (88%) in degrading 20 ppm methylene blue under UV light. Factors such as initial concentration of dye and pH were found to affect the photocatalytic performance, and the recyclability of the catalyst was also evaluated.