Biocompatible PANI-Encapsulated Chemically Modified Nano-TiO₂ Particles for Visible-Light Photocatalytic Applications

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Photocatalysis

Background:

• Polyaniline (PANI) is a conductive polymer with diverse biomedical and environmental applications.
• Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is a widely used photocatalyst, often enhanced by chemical modification and composite formation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize novel nano-PANI/N-TiO2 and nano-PANI/Ag-TiO2 photocatalytic composites.
• To evaluate the photocatalytic efficiency and biocompatibility of these new nanocomposites.

Main Methods:

• Aniline oxidative polymerization for PANI synthesis.
• Sol-gel approach for Ag- and N-chemically modified TiO2 nanopowders.
• Micro-Raman, FT-IR, and XRD for material characterization.
• Photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B under visible light.

Main Results:

• Successful fabrication of PANI-encapsulated Ag- and N-modified TiO2 nanocomposites.
• Characterization confirmed the co-existence of PANI and TiO2, with an average crystallite size of ~20 nm.
• Composites exhibited enhanced photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B under visible light (band gap ~2 eV).
• Materials demonstrated good stability (zeta potential -26 to -37 mV) and high biocompatibility with normal cell lines.

Conclusions:

• The synthesized PANI-encapsulated Ag- and N-modified TiO2 nanocomposites are stable, cost-effective, and possess enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity.
• These materials show significant potential for industrial wastewater treatment and biomedical applications.
• The semi-crystalline structure of PANI contributes to higher photocatalytic efficiency.