Degradation of Organic and Toxic Pollutants by Embedding the Barium Titanate Nanoparticles in Polyaniline Matrix (BaTiO₃@PANI)

The embedment of barium titanate nanoparticles (BaTiO₃ NPs) in the polyaniline (PANI) matrix play a significant role in enhancing the properties of nanocomposites. In this research work BaTiO₃@PANI polymer nanocomposites were well synthesized by the in-situ polymerization by embedding different concentrations of BaTiO₃ NPs (1wt%, 3wt%, 5wt%, 7wt %) in the polyaniline matrix. The resulting nanocomposites were characterized for their structural, optical and photocatalytic properties. BaTiO₃@PANI nanocomposites exhibited higher photocatalytic activity than pure PANI and pure BaTiO₃ NPs towards the organic and toxic pollutants in liquid phase under visible light irradiation. The embedment of BaTiO₃ NPs in PANI have played an important role in affecting the photo reactivity and the increased weight ratio of BaTiO₃ NPs in PANI increased the photocatalytic efficiency of nanocomposites. The structural and optical properties were studied by XRD, FTIR and UV-Visible spectroscopy. The XRD confirmed the embedment of BaTiO₃ NPs in PANI matrix. The Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) spectroscopy identified the various functional groups and their respective vibrational and stretching modes. The results revealed that higher concentration of BaTiO₃ NPs in PANI proves to be a better photocatalyst. This work provides a comprehensive information to modify the polymers with nanoparticles.