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Electrospinning preparation, characterization, and enhanced photocatalytic activity of an Silicotungstic acid (H 4 SiW 12 O 40 )/poly(vinyl alcohol)/poly(methyl methacrylate) composite nanofiber membrane
Author(s) -
Li Tingting,
Zhang Zhiming,
Li Wei,
Liu Ce,
Zhou Haoyu,
An Libao
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.43193
Subject(s) - vinyl alcohol , silicotungstic acid , electrospinning , membrane , materials science , nanofiber , methyl orange , photocatalysis , methyl methacrylate , chemical engineering , fourier transform infrared spectroscopy , methacrylate , polymer chemistry , aqueous solution , poly(methyl methacrylate) , nuclear chemistry , composite material , chemistry , copolymer , organic chemistry , catalysis , polymer , biochemistry , engineering
Silicotungstic acid (H 4 SiW 12 O 40 )/poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) composite nanofiber membranes were prepared by an electrospinning technique. A PMMA emulsion was mixed with PVA and H 4 SiW 12 O 40 evenly in water (electrospinning solvent). The configuration and elemental composition of the membranes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results indicate that H 4 SiW 12 O 40 with an intact Keggin structure existed in the composite membrane. The as‐prepared H 4 SiW 12 O 40 /PVA/PMMA membranes exhibited enhanced photocatalytic efficiency (>84%) in the degradation of methyl orange (MO); it outperformed H 4 SiW 12 O 40 powder (4.6%) and the H 4 SiW 12 O 40 /PVA nanofiber membrane (75.2%) under UV irradiation. More importantly, the H 4 SiW 12 O 40 /PVA/PMMA membranes could be easily separated from the aqueous MO solution, and the photocatalytic efficiency of the membranes decreased inappreciably after three photocatalytic cycles. This may have been due to the enhanced water tolerance of the membranes and the stability of H 4 SiW 12 O 40 in the membranes. The photocatalytic process was driven by the reductive pathway with a much faster degradation rate because of the presence of PVA. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133 , 43193.