A Highly Efficient Ag Nanoparticle-Immobilized Alginate-g-Polyacrylonitrile Hybrid Photocatalyst for the Degradation of Nitrophenols

• Published in: Polymers 2020-12, Vol.12 (12), p.3049
• Main Authors: Hasan, Imran, Shekhar, Charu, Alharbi, Walaa, Abu Khanjer, Maymonah, Khan, Rais Ahmad, Alsalme, Ali
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 2073-4360; 2073-4360
• DOI: 10.3390/polym12123049

Herein, we report PAN-g-Alg@Ag-based nanocatalysts synthesis via in situ oxidative free-radical polymerization of acrylonitrile (AN) using Alg@Ag nanoparticles (Alg@Ag NPs). Various analytical techniques, including FTIR, XRD, SEM, TEM, UV-Vis, and DSC, were employed to determine bonding interactions and chemical characteristics of the nanocatalyst. The optimized response surface methodology coupled central composite design (RSM-CCD) reaction conditions were a 35-min irradiation time in a 70-mg L 2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP) solution at pH of 4.68. Here, DNP degradation was 99.46% at a desirability of 1.00. The pseudo-first-order rate constant ( ) values were 0.047, 0.050, 0.054, 0.056, 0.059, and 0.064 min with associated half-life ( ) values of 14.74, 13.86, 12.84, 12.38, 11.74, 10.82, and 10.04 min that corresponded to DNP concentrations of 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, and 70 mg L , respectively, in the presence of PAN-g-Alg@Ag (0.03 g). The results indicate that the reaction followed the pseudo-first-order kinetic model with an R value of 0.99. The combined absorption properties of PAN and Alg@Ag NPs on copolymerization on the surface contributed more charge density to surface plasmon resonance (SPR) in a way to degrade more and more molecules of DNP together with preventing the recombination of electron and hole pairs within the photocatalytic process.