Amalgamation of ZrO2-PANI Nanocomposite Polymeric Material: Characterization and Expeditious Photocatalytic Performance Towards Carbol Fuchsin (CF) Dye and Kinetic Study

In the present investigation a promising conducting polymer, Polyaniline (PANI), and ZrO 2 -PANI nanocomposite are used for photocatalytic degradation of Carbol Fuchsin (CF) dye. Both materials were prepared via the in-situ polymerization method. Various nano-characterization techniques were used to investigate the fabricated materials. The structural investigation of ZrO 2 and ZrO 2 -PANI nanocomposite was performed using X-ray diffraction (XRD). From this investigation, it was observed that ZrO 2 belongs to the crystalline tetragonal phase possessing a crystallite size of 15.80 nm. The SEM analysis shows the flakes arrangement for undoped ZrO 2 , while improved agglomeration has been observed for modified ZrO 2 -PANI nanocomposite. The Raman shifts can be observed from Raman spectroscopy for both the fabricated materials. Organic dyes are considered to be persistent organic pollutants (POP’s) that are toxic in nature. Here one of the POP dyes, CF was used in the photocatalytic efficiency of ZrO 2 and ZrO 2 -PANI nanocomposite. The prepared polymerized catalysts are porous, possessing a high surface area with a tuned band gap, and are found very persistent, and rapid, for the water purification process via the Advanced Oxidation Process. The fabricated catalyst degrades the CF dye within 30 min.