Photocatalysis application of polyvinyl borate/TiO2 nanocomposites under UVA and natural sun lights

Polyvinyl borate (PVB)/titanium dioxide nanocomposites were synthesized through the crosslinking reaction of polyvinyl alcohol and boric acid in the presence of TiO2 nanoparticles. Nanocomposites containing 0, 10, 20 and 30 wt.% TiO2 nanoparticles were obtained and the photocatalytic activity of the prepared nanocomposites was studied by the degradation of methylene blue in aqueous solution under UVA light and natural sun light, seperately. The photocatalytic activity of PVB increased with TiO2 contribution. The highest photocatalytic activity was obtained with the nanocomposite containing 30 wt.% TiO2. The chemical structure of the nanocomposite was investigated by FTIR analysis. FTIR analysis reveals that PVB and TiO2-containing PVB nanocomposites were successfully synthesized. Morphology of the nanocomposites was studied in detail by SEM and TEM analyses. TiO2 aggregates of about 100 nm were observed on TEM images