Modifying PVDF/Ppy’s mechanical and luminescent properties by incorporating ZnS nanoparticles for visible light photocatalytic water remediation: Experimental and theoretical approach

Abstract

The current research explores nanocomposites PVDF/Ppy/ZnS (PV/PY/ZS) manufactured using co-precipitation and casting processes to improve dynamic mechanical testing, luminescence, and visible light photocatalytic wastewater.ZS is precisely integrated and evenly distributed in the PV/PY matrix, according to XRD, FESEM, and FTIR measurements. The addition of ZS nanoparticles to the PV/PY matrix significantly enhances the change in the storage modulus of the nanocomposites, which ranges from 1.42 to 13.58 GPa at a temperature of 25 °C. PV/PY-0.03ZS has uniform electronic microscopic structures, as demonstrated by a corresponding peak at the same frequency. The addition of ZS species drastically lowered the photoluminescence (PL) spectra of PV/PY-0.03ZS, indicating that ZS modulation inhibited electron-hole pair production.The PV/PY-0.03ZS composite removed brilliant cressyl blue (BCB) 97 % at a rate constant of 0.012 min. In visible light, the scavenger experiment showed that electrons were essential for BCB dye photodegradation over PV, PY, and 0.03 ZS. Reusing the same conditions had no effect on removal efficiency. A factorial design comprising sixteen experiments was used to investigate the effects of variables. This fits in with the sustainability axis, which suggests that the developed immobilized photocatalyst might be used in industrial-scale water treatment units instead of slurry reactors.