Dye-sensitised photocatalytic degradation of PVC-ZnO composite film

Sampa Chakrabarti and Binay K. Dutta

International Journal of Environmental Technology and Management, 2008, vol. 9, issue 1, 34-46

Abstract: The hazard of the disposal of waste plastics, such as Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), has been considered as world-wide environmental problem. In this work, a composite film comprising PVC and ZnO semiconductor has been prepared and characterised. The efficacy of ZnO to degrade the PVC photocatalytically under UV irradiation with and without Eosin Y dye sensitiser has been explored. The process parameters studied were loading of ZnO and Eosin Y and intensity of UV radiation. The loss of weight of the film was monitored continuously and about 20% of the initial weight of the film was found to be lost within 7200 sec under the experimental conditions. The rate of degradation followed a pseudo first order kinetic model with respect to the net weight. An enhancement of degradation was achieved using dye sensitiser.

Keywords: photocatalysis; polyvinyl chloride; PVC; zinc oxide; ZnO; composite film; Eosin Y; UV irradiation; ultraviolet radiation; composites; photocatalytic degradation; waste disposal; waste plastics; semiconductors; kinetic modelling; dye sensitisers. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2008
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ids:ijetma:v:9:y:2008:i:1:p:34-46

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