Fabrication and characterization of (<scp>PVDF</scp>/<scp>PEO</scp>)/<scp>AgBiSe<sub>2</sub></scp> polymeric membrane with enhanced visible light photocatalytic performance
A. M. Ismail, Rabab A. Nasr, Talaat A. Hameed
Abstract
Abstract Driven by the visible band gap, silver bismuth selenide (AgBiSe 2 ) was loaded in PVDF/PEO blend to enhance the photodegradation of Maxilon blue dye. AgBiSe 2 nanoparticles were successfully synthesized by facile solvothermal approach and then loaded to PVDF/PEO (80/20) by 10, 20, and 30 wt%, by evaporative casting method. The X‐ray results in tandem with the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) established the successful fabrication of (PVDF/PEO)/x(AgBiSe 2 ) polymer nanocomposites. The X‐ray analysis verified the formation of hexagonal AgBiSe 2 of a crystallite size ranging from 14.3 to 23.24 nm. The FT‐IR results manifested an overlap between functional groups that corroborated the interaction between PVDF and PEO. Peaks of the AgSe, and SeO modes confirmed that the nanofiller and PVDF/PEO blend were successfully incorporated. The micrograph images by field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) unraveled the high tendency of AgBiSe 2 to form a uniform cluster. The optical band gap was found to be a direct band gap of 2.86 eV for 30 wt% AgBiSe 2 proving its validity as visible‐light‐driven photocatalysts. The removal percentages of the prepared membrane are 4.1, 59, 82, and 98 for 0, 10%, 20%, and 30% AgBiSe 2 after 300 min of irradiation under simulated sunlight at pH 6.