Poly(aniline-co-o-toluidine) Encapsulated Zinc Oxide Nanocomposite: Preparation, Characterization, and Photocatalytic Reduction of Cr(VI)

Poly(aniline-co-o-toluidine) encapsulated zinc oxide (ZnO) nanocomposite was prepared by chemical oxidative polymerization. The composition, morphology and structure of poly(Ani-co-oT)/ZnO nanocomposite were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and UV-visible spectroscopy (UV-vis). FTIR spectrum endorsed the formation of nanocomposite. TEM image showed that the ZnO nanoparticles were well dispersed in the copolymer matrix. XRD results revealed that the crystallinity of copolymer was more pronounced after the addition of ZnO. TGA results illustrated that the decomposition temperature of nanocomposite was higher than the pure copolymer. Electrical conductivity of the copolymer was increased by the addition ZnO. In addition, the photocatalytic reaction with illuminated nanocomposite can be effectively applied to treat wastewater contaminated with Cr(VI). The reduction pattern of Cr(VI) was better fit to first-order kinetic model. The nanocomposite was also applied as a photocatalyst for the degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye.