Enhanced visible light photocatalytic activity of zno nanoparticles modified by cyclized polyacrynitrile

The ZnO/cyclized polyacrylonitrile (CPAN) composites were prepared by impregnation and heat treatment process. The morphology, crystal type, internal structure of ZnO/CPAN nanocomposites were characterized by UV-vis-diffuse reflectance spectroscope (DRS), X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The visible light photocatalytic activity of ZnO/CPAN was evaluated by degradation of methyl orange under xenon lamp irradiation. The DRS results indicate that the absorption of ZnO/CPAN nanocomposites in the visible region was significantly higher than that of pure ZnO nanoparticles. The TEM results show that the surface of ZnO nanoparticles is occupied by the CPAN in small amount. The results of photocatalytic experiment show that the photocatalytic activity of ZnO nanoparticles can be improved significantly by the modification of CPAN. The possible photocatalytic mechanism was also discussed. © 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 38: 336–344, 2019