Preparation and photo-catalytic performance of β2-SiW11/PANI/TiO2 photo-catalyst

Using heteropoly tungstate beta(2)-K8SiW11O39 center dot xH(2)O as the active component, the tungstate was loaded on PANI/TiO2 by the dipping method to prepare a composite photo-catalyst beta(2)-SiW11/PANI/TiO2. The new ternary composite material, beta(2)-SiW11/PANI/TiO2, was characterized by IR, UV, TG, XPS, XRD and SEM. Meanwhile, the degradation of methylene blue solution was used as a probe reaction to evaluate the photo-catalytic performance of beta(2)-SiW11/PANI/TiO2. The effect of solution pH and amount of composite material on photo-catalytic activity was investigated. Compared with TiO2 and silicate, the composite material beta(2)-SiW11/PANI/TiO2 as photo-catalyst exhibited enhanced photo-catalytic performance due to the synergic effect between TiO2 and heteropoly tungstate. Under optimum conditions, 92.58% of the dye was decomposed in 150 min. Our present findings will have a profound effect on the use of beta(2)-SiW11/PANI/TiO2 composite as photo-catalytic material.