Covalent immobilization of TiO2 within macroporous polymer monolith as a facilely recyclable photocatalyst for water decontamination

Abstract

This study focused on the covalent immobilization of TiO2 on the surface of a porous polymer monolith by a two-step method. Firstly, porous polymeric monolith with trimethoxysilane anchor groups was fabricated by w/o emulsion templated copolymerization of vinyl acetate (VAc) and methacryloxypropyl-trimethoxysilane (MPS). Then, anatase TiO2 were covalently immobilized within the voids of poly(VAc-MPS) monolith via an acid-catalyzed co-condensation of the trimethoxysilane group with a TiO2 sol precursor at low temperate. Scanning electron microscopy images demonstrated that both poly(VAc-MPS) and Ti-P(VAc-MPS) possess dense honeycomb-like macroporous structures. The chemical structure analysis by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed that (i) acid-catalyzed sol-gel method in this case could fully convert the amorphous TiO2 sol to anatase TiO2 even at low temperature (70°); (ii) TiO2 particles were covalently immobilized within the voids of the polymer monolith via Si–O–Ti linkage; (iii) acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of the trimethoxysilane groups and VAc led to significant increase in the hydrophilicity of the obtained hybrid porous monolith, Ti-P(VAc-MPS), with a water contact angle of 19.6°. Exemplified by the photo-degradation of methyl orange (MO) in aqueous solution, Ti-P(VAc-MPs) exhibited good photocatalytic activity and excellent recyclability for water decontamination. The as-prepared Ti-P(VAc-MPS) monolith could be efficiently regenerated for cyclic runs without further energy-consuming separation process such as centrifugation and filtration. The present approach opens a green way for obtaining other porous inorganic-organic photocatalyst for water contaminant removal.