Visible light photoactivity of Polypropylene coated Nano-TiO ₂ for dyes degradation in water

Abstract

The use of Polypropylene as support material for nano-TiO ₂ photocatalyst in the photodegradation of Alizarin Red S in water solutions under the action of visible light was investigated. The optimization of TiO ₂ pastes preparation using two commercial TiO ₂, Aeroxide P-25 and Anatase, was performed and a green low-cost dip-coating procedure was developed. Scanning electron microscopy, Atomic Force Microscopy and X-Ray Diffraction analysis were used in order to obtain morphological and structural information of as-prepared TiO ₂ on support material. Equilibrium and kinetics aspects in the adsorption and successive photodegradation of Alizarin Red S, as reference dye, are described using polypropylene-TiO ₂ films in the Visible/TiO ₂/water reactor showing efficient dyes degradation.