Dye-sensitised photocatalytic degradation of PVC-ZnO composite film

The hazard of the disposal of waste plastics, such as Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), has been considered as world-wide environmental problem. In this work, a composite film comprising PVC and ZnO semiconductor has been prepared and characterised. The efficacy of ZnO to degrade the PVC photocatalytically under UV irradiation with and without Eosin Y dye sensitiser has been explored. The process parameters studied were loading of ZnO and Eosin Y and intensity of UV radiation. The loss of weight of the film was monitored continuously and about 20% of the initial weight of the film was found to be lost within 7200 sec under the experimental conditions. The rate of degradation followed a pseudo first order kinetic model with respect to the net weight. An enhancement of degradation was achieved using dye sensitiser.