Photocatalytic activity of polyvinyl borate/titanium dioxide composites for UV light degradation of organic pollutants

Abstract

In this study, it is aimed to prepare polyvinyl borate (PVB)/titanium dioxide (TiO2) composites through the condensation reaction of polyvinyl alcohol and boric acid in the presence of TiO2 nanoparticles. The scope of this study contains the photocatalytic activity of the prepared composites with varying TiO2 content from 0 to 35 wt.% for the degradation of methylene blue in aqueous medium under UV light irradiation. The structure and morphological properties of the prepared composites were studied with FTIR, TGA, EDX, SEM and TEM analyses. The photocatalytic activity of the prepared samples was analyzed by UV-Vis spectrophotometer measurements. In parallel with TiO2 content up to 30 wt.%, the photocatalytic activity of PVB/TiO2 composites was enhanced and the composites exhibited higher discoloration rate of the model dye, methylene blue.