In situ preparation of highly stable polyaniline/W18O49 hybrid nanocomposite as efficient visible light photocatalyst for aqueous Cr(VI) reduction.

In the present study, we prepared novel polyaniline supported W18O49 (PANI/W18O49) nanocomposite by in situ oxidative polymerisation method. We herein focused on enhancing the stability and the photocatalytic performance of W18O49. The prepared PANI/W18O49 was thoroughly characterized by FTIR, TEM, XRD, BET, UV-vis DRS and PL. The PANI support presented a great effect on the light harvesting and photo-charge transfer of the W18O49, and the optimum percentage of was found to be 10 wt%. As for treating Cr(VI), the effect of important water quality parameters (such as pH, ions, NOM, DO, temperature and SOAs) on photocatalytic performance was investigated under the visible light irradiation (λ > 420 nm). SOAs were shown to exert a dramatic accelerating influence on Cr(VI) reduction in the system. The obtained 10%-PANI/W18O49 can completely catalytically reduce 1 mM Cr(VI) in the presence of tartaric acid (1:3) within 50 min. Meanwhile, it can be recycled at ten times without any loss of photocatalytic efficiency, indicating the high stability of the as-prepared photocatalyst. The results of the study demonstrate the potential of the new obtained photocatalyst in efficient utilization of solar energy for treating aqueous Cr(VI).