In situ sol-gel Polybenzimidazole/Titanium dioxide nanocomposite materials for photocatalytic degradation of Reactive Black 5 azo dye

Polymer nanocomposites with incorporated inorganic nanoparticles are interesting materials for study because of their unique properties. Such hybrid nanomaterials find many applications in various fields of technologies. The properties of polymer nanohybrids are combination of polymeric matrix and inorganic nanoparticles [1].

Nanocomposite hybrid powders of meta-Polybenzimidazole/Titanium dioxide containing 20 wt.% of titania were synthesized by a new in situ sol-gel process with the use of different potassium hydroxide PBI low-alcohol mixtures and titanium (IV) isobutoxide precursor. The phase composition and structure of the prepared hybrid polymer nano powders before and after calcination were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction analysis and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The photocatalytic ability of the obtained Polybenzimidazole/Titania hybrid nanomaterials were investigated for photocatalytic degradation of Reactive Black 5 (RB5) azo dye as model contaminant from aqueous solution under UV illumination. The degree of degradation of Reactive Black 5 dye at 120 minutes UV irradiation is 58-90 %, using synthesized PBI/TiO₂ nanocomposites as photocatalysts.

References

[1] C. Cazan, A. Enesca, L. Andronic, Synergic effect of TiO₂ filler on the mechanical properties of polymer nanocomposites, Polymers 2021, 13(12), 2017.