Photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B dye by polymeric films containing ZnO, Ag nanoparticles and polypyrrole

Abstract Polypyrrole (PPyr) has been incorporated into a polymeric matrix together with zinc oxide/silver nanoparticles (ZnO/Ag NPs) using free-radical photopolymerization of poly(propylene glycol) dimethacrylate and 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl methacrylate (80:20%) in the presence of ZnO, silver nanoparticle precursor, and pyrrole The structure, optical and photocatalytic properties of these nanocomposites have been investigated by fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), UV–Vis spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results revealed that all diffraction peaks positions agree well with the formation of ZnO/Ag nanoparticles. The photocatalytic performance of the hybrid films in degradation of Rhodamine B in an aqueous solution was investigated and the results showed that the composite film containing ZnO (6–13 nm)-Ag (2–6 nm) NPs and about 3% polypyrrole achieved a maximum degradation efficiency of 99% within 120 min of visible light irradiation. A good rate constant (k = 2.96 × 10 −2  min −1 ) was determined for the degradation of Rhodamine B dye.