Novel synthesis of ZnO/PMMA nanocomposites for photocatalytic applications

The incorporation of nanostructured photocatalysts in polymers is a strategic way to obtain novelwater purification systems. This approach takes the advantages of: (1) the presence of nanostructuredphotocatalyst; (2) the flexibility of polymer; (3) the immobilization of photocatalyst, that avoidsthe recovery of the nanoparticles after the water treatment. Here we present ZnO-polymernanocomposites with high photocatalytic performance and stability. Poly (methyl methacrylate)(PMMA) powders were coated with a thin layer of ZnO (80 nm thick) by atomic layer deposition at lowtemperature (80 °C). Then the method of sonication and solution casting was performed so to obtainthe ZnO/PMMA nanocomposites. A complete morphological, structural, and chemical characterizationwas made by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energydispersiveX-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS) analyses. The remarkable photocatalytic efficiency of the nanocomposites was demonstrated bythe degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye and phenol in aqueous solution under UV light irradiation.The composites also resulted reusable and stable, since they maintained an unmodified photo-activityafter several MB discoloration runs. Thus, these results demonstrate that the proposed ZnO/PMMAnanocomposite is a promising candidate for photocatalytic applications and, in particular, for novelwater treatment.