Visible light absorbing nanorods TiO2 photocatalytically deposited onto flexible low-density polyethylene films: Characterization and evaluation of photocatalytic activity

PAULA A. OSORIO-VARGAS; DANIEL PAIS OSPINA; DIEGO A. MARÍN-SILVA; ADRIANA PINOTTI; CÁNNEVA, ANTONELA; DONADELLI, JORGE A.; LUIS R. PIZZIO,; JULIÁN A. RENGIFO-HERRERA

San Francisco

Conferencia; Fifth edition of International Conference on Catalysis and Chemical Engineering (CCE-2021); 2021

Visible-light absorbing TiO2 nanorods-graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) composites (g-C3N4@TiO2NR) were successfully immobilized through a one-step UV-A-induced photocatalytic procedure onto commercial low-density polyethylene (LDPE) flexible films. XPS, ATR-FTIR, and TEM characterization of nanoparticles revealed the presence of g-C3N4 structures alongside TiO2 nanorods. Films exhibited presence of nanostructured g-C3N4/TiO2 composites and roughness evaluated by AFM. Self-cleaning properties were evaluated in solid-liquid and solid-gas phase by using malachite green as model molecule under UV-A and visible light irradiation. Results revealed that g-C3N4@TiO2NR/LDPE films exhibited the highest photocatalytic activity both in solid-liquid and solid-gas phase after 120 min of visible light irradiation (λ> 455 nm) while LDPE films containing P25 exhibited the highest activity under UV-A irradiation (λ> 320 nm). Furthermore, g-C3N4@TiO2NR/LDPE films kept its visible-light photoinduced photocatalytic properties after 4 cycles of reusing. On the other hand, g-C3N4@TiO2NR/LDPE films showed also a significant visible-light photoinduced hydrophilicity. High visible-light photoinduced photocatalytic capacity of g-C3N4@TiO2NR/LDPE films could be related with textural and electronic properties features, superior visible-light absorption and roughness.