In recent times,
access to clean water has become increasingly
difficult and one of the most important problems for the sustainability
of life due to environmental pollution. Based on this thought, in
this study, a multifunctional hydrogel nanocomposite (nanoclay@TiO
2
@PNVP) containing linear poly(
N
-vinyl pyrrolidone)
(PNVP), nanoclay, and TiO
2
nanoparticles was synthesized
and used as an adsorbent and photocatalyst for the adsorption-based
and photocatalytic degradation-based removal of organic and pharmaceutical
pollutants such as methylene blue (MB) and sildenafil citrate (SLD).
The modification of the hydrogel with TiO
2
nanoparticles
and nanoclay aimed to increase the adsorption capacity of the PNVP
hydrogel as well as to gain photocatalytic properties for the effective
removal of organic contaminants. This hybrid material, which can be
cleaned in two different ways, can be reused and recycled at least
10 times. Characterization studies were carried out using Fourier
transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, Raman
spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, differential thermogravimetry,
and viscosimetry techniques. Optimization studies for the adsorption-based
removal of organic contaminants were carried out on MB and SLD as
model organic compounds. The optimum parameters for MB were found
at pH 10 of the sample solution when 50 mg of the nanoclay@TiO
2
@PNVP hydrogel nanocomposite was used for 420 min of contact
time. It was observed that 99% of the MB was photocatalytically degraded
within 150 min at pH 10. Our material had multifunctional applicability
properties, showing high adsorption and photocatalytic performances
over 99% for at least 10 times of use. For the removal of organic
and pharmaceutical contaminants from wastewater, the synthesized material
can be used in two treatment processes separately or in combination
in one step, providing an important advantage for its usability in
environmental applications.