Abstract
In this research, titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles were immobilized into polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) matrix without and with surfactants via solution casting film combined with thermal treatment method. The dispersion and distribution of TiO2 nanoparticles presented by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed the uniform distribution of TiO2 nanoparticles in PVA matrix with surfactant. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) showed increasing intensity peak at 560-800 cm-1 corresponding to Ti-O stretching vibration indicating interaction between PVA and TiO2 after thermal treatment. X-ray diffraction (XRD) result showed peak of PVA crystal structure due to the thermal treatment, and the addition of surfactant could decrease the average crystallite size of TiO2 in PVA/TiO2 nanocomposite films. Photocatalytic activity was determined from the film efficiency on removal of methylene blue (MB) under ultraviolet (UV). The results showed the greater MB removal efficiency of the PVA/TiO2 nanocomposite films with surfactant and thermal treatment than those without surfactant and thermal treatment.
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