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Remarkable photocatalytic performances towards pollutant degradation under sunlight and enhanced electrochemical properties of TiO2/polymer nanohybrids

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Abstract

In this work, TiO2-based nanocomposites containing polyaniline (PANI), poly(1-naphthylamine) (PNA), and polyindole (PIN) were synthesized by effective and simple routes and posteriorly employed as photocatalysts and supercapacitors. Characterization techniques such as XRD, FTIR, FESEM, UV, and PL were employed to investigate the structural, morphological, and optical properties of materials. XRD analysis confirmed the successful formation of TiO2 and TiO2/polymer nanocomposites. PANI, PNA, and PIN polymers were well distributed on the surface of TiO2 nanoparticles and were investigated/explored from the FESEM analysis. The visible light absorption and the recombination rate of photogenerated charge carriers were confirmed by the UV–Vis and PL analysis. The photocatalytic properties of the nanocomposites were investigated towards malachite green (MG) dye degradation under sunlight. The dye degradation efficiency followed the order TiO2/PNA > TiO2/PANI > TiO2 > TiO2/PIN. The higher efficiency of TiO2/PNA can be associated with its smaller bandgap energy compared to the other materials. Electrochemical properties of materials were also examined by cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge–discharge measurements using a three-electrode experiment setup in an aqueous electrolyte. TiO2/PNA nanocomposite showed higher supercapacitor behavior compared to the other materials due to higher electrical conductivity of PNA and redox potential of TiO2 (pseudocapacitance).

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The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

S.S.R. Inbanathan wishes to thank UGC-DAE-CSR, Indore Center (India). E.L. Foletto and G.L. Dotto would like to thank CNPq (National Council for Scientific and Technological Development, Brazil). The Brazilian authors would like to thank CAPES (Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel) and CNPq (National Council for Scientific and Technological Development) for the financial support.

Funding

This work was supported by UGC-DAE Consortium for Scientific Research Indore Center grant Ref: CSR IC -236/2017–18/1317 (Dated: March 31, 2018).

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Conceptualization, M. Jarvin; methodology, G. Thamizharasan, D. R. Rosaline; formal analysis and investigation, M. B. R. Kamalam, G. Thamizharasan, D. R. Rosaline; writing—original draft preparation, M. Jarvin, S. S. R. Inbanathan; writing—review and editing, G. L. Dotto, E. L. Foletto; funding acquisition, S. S. R. Inbanathan; supervision, S. S. R. Inbanathan. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Guilherme Luiz Dotto.

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Jarvin, M., Rosaline, D.R., Gopalakrishnan, T. et al. Remarkable photocatalytic performances towards pollutant degradation under sunlight and enhanced electrochemical properties of TiO2/polymer nanohybrids. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 62832–62846 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-26486-4

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