Dielectric, magnetic and photocatalytic activity of PolyPyrrole/Prussian red nanocomposite for waste water treatment applications

Abstract

Abstract This work describes the synthesis and characterization of a novel nanocomposite of Prussian red and polypyrrole using standard protocols (Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Transmission electron microscopy analysis). The comparative studies of the synthesized nanocomposite, pristine polypyrrole and related (PPY) nanocomposites with other dopants indicate an enhancement in the thermal, mechanical and electrical properties over pure {(PPY) and related PPY nanocomposites}.The investigated physicochemical properties of nanocomposite suggest desirable material properties for environmental applications. The synthesized nanocomposite was observed to have a transition from paramagnetic to ferromagnetic behavior with a decreasing temperature and also displayed good photocatalytic activity towards dye and antibiotic degradation. The dye degradation of more than 80% under the pseudo-first order conditions as observed for, Methyl orange Methylene blue and Rhodamine B dyes in 80\u202fmin at room temperature and neutral pH. Besides, it showed photocatalytic activity towards the degradation of antibiotics: rifampicin, levofloxacin and amoxicillin with good results. Furthermore, the nanocomposite displayed selective adsorption capacity towards recovery of precious metal ions in the waste water.