Removal of methyl tert‐butyl ether as a water pollutant by photodegradation over a new type of poly(methyl methacrylate)/TiO₂ nanocomposite

Abstract

Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), as a common oxygenate additive in gasoline, not only can enhance the octane number but also reduce exhaust emissions. Unfortunately, MTBE is a highly water soluble reagent and resistant to biodegradation. One of the most important methods for treatment of the MTBE contaminated is photodegradation over TiO 2 . In this research work, the immobilized TiO 2 nanoparticles in poly(methyl methacrylate) PMMA nanocomposite films, which prepared by ionic liquid-based microemulsion method, have been evaluated to conduct MTBE photodegradation under visible light irradiation. The objective of this study was to find out the best TiO 2 content in nanocomposite and pH value for relatively complete degradation of MTBE in aqueous solution. The obtained results demonstrated that the 0.01 wt% of TiO 2 in PMMA thin film and pH value of 7 show the best performance in MTBE photodegradation. Another highlighting of this work is looking to forward the behavior of nanocomposite surface after photodegradation of MTBE pollutant. For this purpose and to confirm the stability of the nanocomposite films for long-term operations, the XPS and FESEM-EDX characterization methods were used. POLYM. COMPOS., 00:000-000,

Engineering Poly(Methyl Methacrylate)/Fe2O3 Hollow Nanospheres Composite Prepared in Microemulsion System As a Recyclable Adsorbent for Removal of Benzothiophene

“…Here, continuing previous research in microemulsion systems using the soft template method that proved to be very successful in fabricating varieties of nanomaterial, − we report on the controllable synthesis of PMMA/Fe 2 O 3 hollow nanospheres composite. PMMA/Fe 2 O 3 hollow nanospheres composite was prepared based on the stepwise manner via a combination of W/O and O/W microemulsion.…”

Polymer‐based nanocomposites fabricated by microemulsion method

“…Based on the potential application of the resulted nanocomposite in visible‐light active photocatalysis, they also emphasized that not only [bmim][BF 4 ] acts as a dispersing agent, but also using of [bmim][BF 4 ] sensitized TiO 2 nanoparticles as visible light active agent. [ 108–110 ]…”

“…Based on the potential application of the resulted nanocomposite in visible-light active photocatalysis, they also emphasized that not only [bmim][BF 4 ] acts as a dispersing agent, but also using of [bmim][BF 4 ] sensitized TiO 2 nanoparticles as visible light active agent. [108][109][110] It is important to mention that introducing IL in a nanocomposite may establish improvement of its physical and mechanical properties. Recently Xu et al [111] showed that the presence of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate in PMMA nanocomposite for mediating dispersion of silica filler improves elevation of glass transition.…”

Photocatalytic Oxidation of Methyl Tert-Butyl Ether in Presence of Various Phase Compositions of TiO2

“…Photocatalysis found its way into basically all research fields during the last decade, and removal of MTBE is no exception. The photocatalytic decomposition of MTBE was studied using various semiconductor catalysts, which were modified or immobilized on the support, the catalysts were mostly based on TiO 2 [4][5][6][7][8] or ZnO [9][10][11].…”