Conjugated polymers for photocatalysis.

The photocatalytic properties of the conjugated polymers have been investigated for the first time. Degradation of various textile dyes such as Alizarin S, Alizarin G, Orange G, and Remazol brilliant blue were studied under UV radiation. The experimental data indicated that the photocatalytic activity of the conjugated polymers was significantly higher than that of Degussa P-25 under similar conditions. The conjugated polymers were characterized by photoluminescent, UV-visible, and IR spectroscopies before and after photocatalytic reactions. The degradation of phenol was also carried out to study the reaction pathway of degradation.