“Removal of organic pollutants from water using advanced oxidation process"

Abstract

A series of novel plasmonic photocatalysts of Ag/AgCl-polyaniline (Ag/AgCl-PANI) were successfully synthesized by deposition–precipitation reaction followed by a photo-reduction method. The prepared materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, the specific surface areas measure using BET equation, photoluminescence emission spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis.

Ag/AgCl-PANI was used to degrade methylene blue (MB) under simulated solar light. The effects of different parameters such as PANI content, initial pH and concentration of the MB solution, and catalyst dosage on the photo-degradation efficiency were assessed.

The photocatalytic activity and stability of Ag/AgCl is improved after introducing PANI into the prepared photocatalyst. PANI improves the surface area and increases the visible-light absorption ability of the prepared photocatalysts. Furthermore, the enhanced photocatalytic activity and stability of the photocatalysts can be attributed to the presence of synergistic effect of hetero-junction structure formed in the interface between Ag/AgCl and PANI which is effective in separation of photoexcited electron–hole pairs.