Photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue in water solution by multilayer TiO2 coating on HDPE

A multilayer photocatalytic TiO2 coating on a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) disk was found to degrade aqueous methylene blue in a batch reactor study. The TiO2 coating was fabricated by a low-temperature method using polyurethane resin (PU) as a barrier layer for HDPE and as a binding agent for two TiO2 layers. Adequate adhesion between the HDPE substrate and PU barrier in aqueous environment was ensured with an oxygen plasma treatment.The photocatalytic effect of immersed TiO2 coating on the degradation of methylene blue in aqueous solution was monitored by UV-vis spectrometry as a function of UV-illumination time. Samples were allowed to adsorb methylene blue in the dark for 1 h before the UV-degradation experiments were started. The percentages of methylene blue degraded during 6 h UV illumination (λ = 365 nm) varied from 80% to 92%. The degradation followed pseudo-first order reaction kinetics, and the observed rate constants (kobs) were between 0.27 and 0.43 h−1.

► Photocatalytically effective TiO2-based multilayer coating can be prepared on HDPE. ► Over 90% of methylene blue degrades in 6 h. ► Polyurethane assists methylene blue adsorption and degradation. ► Pseudo-first order rate constant of kobs = 0.43 h−1 is obtained for degradation.