No abstract

In this research, a simple oxidation chemical process was applied for the synthesis of novel PANI@ZnO nanocomposite. The prepared nanocomposites were characterized by XPS, XRD, FTIR, SEM, TGA and N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms. Thereby, PANI@ZnO highest SBET values (about 40.84 m 2 .g −1 ), total mesoporous volume (about 3.214 cm 3 .g −1 ) and average pore size (about 46.12 nm). Afterwards, the prepared nanomaterial was applied as novel nanoadsorbent for the adsorption of Congo Red (CR) and Methylene Blue (MB) dyes from aqueous solutions at 298 K and pH 5.0. Besides, the pseudo-second-order model was obtained the best for the adsorption of both dyes. In the case of isotherm models, the Freundlich model showed the best fit. After removal, the spent adsorbent was regenerated. With the regeneration repeated five cycles, the PANI@ZnO regeneration efficiency remained at a very adequate level.

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Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) doped with poly-(styrenesulfonate), PEDOT−PSS, films synthesized by electrochemical methods can be considered as poor electrocatalyst for the oxidation of ferrocene in aqueous solution. The rate of electron transfer to that redox probe decays progressively as the amount of deposited polymer increases and the true electroactive area available for the electrochemical reaction shows quite modest figures. We present here an alternative, simple way to enhance the properties of this material which uses, exclusively, electrochemical synthesis methods. The electrocatalytic performance can be significantly improved by inserting the polymer within a pre-deposited, three-dimensional porous silica matrix forming an interpenetrating hybrid material. On the one hand, the modified PEDOT-PSS shows doping levels which trebles the unmodified material. On the other, the electron transfer constant and the true electroactive are for ferrocene oxidation increased by a factor of 2 and 4, respectively.