Application of photodegraded polythene films for the treatment of Drimarene Brilliant Red (DBR) dye

Abstract

The aim of this research was to generate titania-embedded polythene (PE) material that is photo catalytically degradable and could also serve as a photocatalysis vehicle. Titania Nanoparticles (TNPs) prepared from General Purpose TiO2 powder, by hydrothermal method and characterized by SEM, XRD and EDX, were used to prepare pure and titania embedded (0–20%) PE composite films. Photocatalytic degradation, separately under UV and visible light, of these films was monitored for a period of 90 days. PE film weight loss, due to degradation, under UV and visible light, was found to be 60% and 33% respectively. The film deterioration was confirmed by FTIR and SEM analysis. On the other hand, the potential of the degraded titania-PE material, to photo catalytically degrade a model pollutant, Drimarene Brilliant Red (DBR) dye, was examined. For this purpose, PE films having suffered around 50% weight loss were allowed to interact with DBR dye, in a batch mode, under UV and visible light. Compared to the fresh titania-embedded films, the degraded material showed a considerable activity as regards discoloration of the dye, following zero order kinetics. The novel photocatalyst (degraded titania embedded PE films) was recovered and reused for four cycles with minor loss of activity.