Abstracto

Comparison of the photocatalytic degradation of polyvinyl chloride and polystyrenewith zinc oxide semiconductor catalyst under tropical sunlight

Sampa Chakrabarti, Sekhar Bhattacharjee, Devika Sil, Basab Chaudhuri

Composite films have been prepared by dispersing zinc oxide semiconductor particles in thematrix of Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and Polystyrene (PS). Photocatalytic degradation of the films has been studied under tropical sunlight in presence of air and water. The degradation of the two polymers has been compared. Time-weight loss data have been collected and in both cases, the degradation was observed to follow pseudo first order kinetics. The filmswere characterized before and after irradiation by SEMand FTIRATR to study the surface morphology and the possible degradation products respectively. Increase in zinc oxide loading increased the rate and extent of degradation. A model has been suggested for the degradation reaction and the experimental data fit very well to the kinetic model.