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Nano Research & Applications
ISSN 2471-9838
E u r o S c i C o n C o n f e r e n c e o n
Nanotechnology &
Smart Materials
O c t o b e r 0 4 - 0 6 , 2 0 1 8
Am s t e r d a m , N e t h e r l a n d s
Nanotechnology & Smart Materials 2018
Photodegradation of humic acid in aqueous solution using
a TiO
2
∏
carbonaceous hyper
∏
cross
∏
linked polystyrene
polymer nanocomposite
Nhamo Chaukura, Simbarashe S Mukonza, Thabo I Nkambule
and Bhekie B Mamba
College of Science Engineering and Technology-University of South Africa, South Africa
T
he development of alternative methods to degrade natural organic matter or its components to harmless products is an area
that has been attracting significant research interest lately. This paper reports the photodegradation of humic acid using
a composite photocatalyst made up of TiO
2
nanoparticles and a carbonaceous hyper-cross-linked polystyrene-type precursor
derived from post-consumer waste polystyrene. The physicochemical properties of the TiO
2
-carbonaceous hyper-cross-linked
polystyrene nanocomposites were determined using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, UV-visible spectroscopy, scanning
electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction spectroscopy. Batch experiments were used to evaluate the capacity of the materials
to photodegrade humic acid in synthetic wastewater samples using a solar simulator. Despite showing marginal band-gap
narrowing, the introduction of carbonaceous hyper-cross-linked polystyrene into TiO
2
was accompanied by a 100% increase in the
degradation rate of humic acid at a contact time of 90 min. Overall, the photodegradation capacity of the composites increased
with an increase in the carbonaceous hyper-cross-linked polystyrene content. The use of post-consumer waste polystyrene in
preparing high-value materials is novel and a cost-effective way of water treatment that simultaneously makes a contribution
towards alleviating the environmental burden of waste polystyrene.
nchaukura@gmail.comNano Res Appl Volume:4
DOI: 10.21767/2471-9838-C6-025