An Effective and Low-Cost TiO2/Polystyrene Floating Photocatalyst for EnvironmentalRemediation

Abstract

A floating polymer-supported photocatalyst based on polystyrene impregnated with titanium<br />dioxide particles was developed using a facile solvent-cast method at ambient temperature. The prepared<br />photocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and fourier transform<br />infrared spectroscopy. The photocatalytic activity of the developed photocatalysts was investigated using<br />methylene blue dye. The prepared polystyrene-supported titanium dioxide photocatalysts successfully<br />removed color from the aqueous solution without any additional pH adjustment under ultraviolet (254 nm)<br />irradiation and non-stirred, non-anchored conditions. The maximum color removal achieved by the optimized<br />photocatalyst (10 weight percent loading of Degussa P25 with respect to amount of polystyrene) was around<br />93% after 7.5 h of ultraviolet light exposure. Further, the photocatalyst sheets were also tested for recovery<br />and reuse. The efficiency of color removal achieved by the optimized photocatalyst on reuse was in the range<br />of 99–100%. The developed photocatalyst seems to be a promising candidate that can be further investigated<br />for large scale commercial applications.