An enhanced visible light active rutile titania–copper/polythiophene nanohybrid material for the degradation of rhodamine B dye

A novel copper doped TiO2 (TiO2–Cu)/polythiophene (PTh) nanohybrid material with discrete polymer concentrations is devised by a modified sol–gel technique at low temperature. The XRD outcome revealed that the polythiophene and copper contents do not affect the crystal structure of TiO2. SEM and TEM images of the TiO2–Cu and nanohybrid denoted the presence of a nanoparticle sized core–shell structure. UV–visible absorption spectra of nanohybrid catalyst with diverse polymer concentrations broadcasted a broad and strong absorption in the visible region. A strong interaction between the interface of PTh and TiO2–Cu was confirmed by FT-IR. The presence of Cu2+ ion and positively charged sulfur (polarons) throughout the polymer carbon content was manifested by XPS spectra. The photocatalytic activity of nanohybrid catalyst has been evaluated by degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) under visible light irradiation. The effect of solution pH, catalyst dosage and initial concentration of RhB on the photocatalytic activity of TiO2–Cu/PTh nanohybrid with different loadings is studied. It has been observed that the rate of degradation of RhB over TiO2–Cu/PTh nanohybrid is better than TiO2–Cu metal oxide under visible light irradiation.