Facile Synthesis of SrCO3-Sr(OH)2/PPy Nanocomposite with Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity under Visible Light

• Main Authors: Alfredo Márquez-Herrera, Victor Manuel Ovando-Medina, Blanca Estela Castillo-Reyes, Martin Zapata-Torres, Miguel Meléndez-Lira, Jaquelina González-Castañeda
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2016-01-01
• Series: Materials
• Subjects: composite materials; inorganic compounds; nanostructures; chemical synthesis; X-ray photo-emission spectroscopy (XPS)
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/9/1/30

Pyrrole monomer was chemically polymerized onto SrCO3-Sr(OH)2 powders to obtain SrCO3-Sr(OH)2/polypyrrole nanocomposite to be used as a candidate for photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue dye (MB). The material was characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, UV/Vis spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction (XRD). It was observed from transmission electronic microscopy (TEM) analysis that the reported synthesis route allows the production of SrCO3-Sr(OH)2 nanoparticles with particle size below 100 nm which were embedded within a semiconducting polypyrrole matrix (PPy). The SrCO3-Sr(OH)2 and SrCO3-Sr(OH)2/PPy nanocomposites were tested in the photodegradation of MB dye under visible light irradiation. Also, the effects of MB dye initial concentration and the catalyst load on photodegradation efficiency were studied and discussed. Under the same conditions, the efficiency of photodegradation of MB employing the SrCO3-Sr(OH)2/PPy nanocomposite increases as compared with that obtained employing the SrCO3-Sr(OH)2 nanocomposite.