The Influence of Dye Stimulation on Etched TiO₂/ENR/PVC for Elevating Photocatalytic Activity and Photoelectrochemical Properties

Abstract

The application of polymer blends such as epoxidized natural rubber (ENR) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in immobilizing titanium dioxide (TiO2) photocatalysts has enticed many researchers. However, the presence of polymer limits the photocatalytic activity by hindering the surface‐active site of the immobilized TiO2. In this study, photoetching treatment with the presence of dye was successfully applied on the immobilized TiO2/ENR/PVC (TEP) to enhance the photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance. Priorly, a dip coating technique was used to immobilize the TEP. The dye photoetching treatment was performed for several cycles to determine the reusability of the immobilized TEP. Furthermore, it demonstrated a significant enhancement of photocatalytic activity at which the best performance with the pseudo‐first‐order rate constant, k value of 0.1483 min−1 at the 13th cycle. The nonetched, photoetched TEP without dye and dye photoetched TEP have been characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), X‐ray diffraction (XRD), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), and PEC. It is believed that the dye photoetched TEP will produce a good photocatalytic activity and PEC performance due to the presence of dye stimulant during the photoetching treatment.