Photocatalytic polypyrrole-TiO2-nanoparticles composite thin film generated at the air-water interface

Herein, we report a new method of generation of TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) incorporated thin films of polypyrrole (PPy) at the air-water interface. Aqueous TiO2 NPs when treated with H2O2 and left in a chamber of pyrrole vapor resulted in the formation of a film at the interface, in addition to bulk precipitate. Spectroscopic, X-ray diffraction, and electron microscopic measurements establish the formation of a thin film of PPy with the incorporation of TiO2 NPs. The TiO2-containing PPy films when transferred onto glass substrates were able to photo catalyze the decomposition of aqueous organic dyes: methyl orange and methylene blue. Further, these films could also photo catalyze the oxidation of iodide to triiodide ions in aqueous potassium iodide solution. We find that the PPy-TiO2 composite films catalyze the reactions in the presence of light more efficiently than a suspension of TiO2 NPs.