Formation and characteristics of starch‐based dual photo‐function composite hydrogel

Abstract

Starch‐based dual photo‐functional hydrogel (SDPH) was obtained via incorporating the azo group onto the backbone of polymeric network and titanium dioxide within the gel at the same time. The structure and composition of SDPH were confirmed with Fourier transform infrared spectrometer, ultraviolet‐visible (UV‐Vis) spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and energy scattering X‐ray spectroscopy. Scanning electron microscopy observation revealed that titanium dioxide was well dispersed within SDPH. It was found that SDPH not only showed a reversible light‐sensitive behavior but also possessed photo‐catalytic activity. Moreover, the dual photo‐characteristics could be modulated by simply varying the initial amount of titanium dioxide.