Visible light photocatalytic activity of TiO sub(2) nanoparticles hybridized by conjugated derivative of polybutadiene

A series of conjugated polymer/TiO sub(2) (CP/TiO sub(2)) nanocomposites were prepared from TiO sub(2) and commercial polybutadiene. The as-prepared CP/TiO sub(2) nanocomposites were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman Spectroscopy, UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-vis DRS), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The photocatalytic activities of CP/TiO sub(2) nanocomposites were investigated by monitoring the degradation of methyl orange aqueous solution under visible light irradiation. The effects of preparation conditions (such as the mass ratio of PB to TiO sub(2) in suspensions for PB/TiO sub(2) preparation, heat-treatment temperature and time) of CP/TiO sub(2) nanocomposites on their visible light photocatalytic activity were investigated. The results show that the CP/TiO sub(2) nanocomposites have excellent visible light photocatalytic activity. As the content of conjugated polymer on the TiO sub(2) surface, heat-treatment temperature and time increase, the visible light photocatalytic activity increases at first and then decreases. The visible light photocatalytic mechanism of the CP/TiO sub(2) nanocomposites has been discussed.