Solar Light Photoactive Floating Polyaniline/TiO₂ Composites for Water Remediation

In the present study, the development of innovative polyurethane-polyaniline/TiO₂ modified floating materials applied in the sorption and photodegradation of rhodamine B from water matrix under solar light irradiation is reported. All the materials were fabricated with inexpensive and easy approaches and were properly characterized. The effect of the kind of polyaniline (PANI) dopant on the materials' behavior was investigated, as well as the role of the conducting polymer in the pollutant abatement on the basis of its physico-chemical characteristics. Rhodamine B is removed by adsorption and/or photodegradation processes depending on the type of doping agent used for PANI protonation. The best materials were subjected to recycle tests in order to demonstrate their stability under the reaction conditions. The main transformation products formed during the photodegradation process were identified by ultraperformance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC/MS). The results demonstrated that photoactive floating PANI/TiO₂ composites are useful alternatives to common powder photocatalysts for the degradation of cationic dyes.