PANI/Bi2O3 polymeric nanocomposite for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol

Nitro-aromatics pollute the aquatic environment and reach human beings via drinking water. 4-Nitrophenol (4-NP) is the most common pollutant among them and can be reduced to non-toxic 4-aminophenol in the presence of sodium borohydride (NaBH4). Polyaniline/bismuth oxide (PANI/Bi2O3) nanocomposite is synthesized from aniline and Bi2O3 by chemical oxidative polymerization. The composition and structural properties of PANI/Bi2O3 composite are identified by various characterization methods like X-ray powder diffraction, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis , and zeta potential analysis. The synthesized PANI/Bi2O3 shows high catalytic efficiency towards the reduction of 4-NP in the presence of NaBH4 under optimized reaction conditions. The numerous active sites on the composite and the presence of PANI/Bi2O3 interface are the reasons for the reduction of 4-NP to 4-aminophenol. A complete degradation is achieved in 15 min with 0.1 g of the composite. This nanocomposite shows good stability for five cycles without losing efficiency. PANI/Bi2O3 possesses a high reduction capacity and can be used to reduce other nitro organic pollutants in water. The aim of the study is to study the effective catalytic reduction of 4-NP using PANI/Bi2O3. [GRAPHICS] .