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This work reports the synthesis and characterization of a new efficient visible-light photocatalyst comprising SnO 2 nanoparticles and cyclized polyacrylonitrile (CPAN) . SnO 2 /CPAN nanocomposite was synthesized through two steps: first, adsorption of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) in N,N -Dimethylformamide solution by SnO 2 nanoparticles to form SnO 2 /PAN nanocomposite; second, cyclization of PAN in the SnO 2 /PAN nanocomposite by heating at 250 °C for 2 h. The characterization by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, N 2 adsorption-desorption curves, and UV–vis diffuse reflection spectra indicated the synthesis of large surface area SnO 2 /CPAN nanocomposite with remarkable visible-light-harvesting ability. SnO 2 /CPAN nanocomposite exhibited exceptionally high photocatalytic activity in the reduction of aqueous Cr(VI) under visible-light (λ > 420 nm) irradiation (the reaction rate constant of photocatalytic reduction of Cr(VI) by SnO 2 /CPAN is about 16.6 times that by SnO 2 ). The possible mechanism for the high visible-light-driven photocatalytic activity of SnO 2 /CPAN nanocomposite was proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This communication reports the development of a new efficient visible-light-driven composite photocatalyst comprising ZnFe 2 O 4 nanoparticles and conjugated polymer (CPVC) from the dehydrochlorination of polyvinyl chloride (PVC). ZnFe 2 O 4 /CPVC nanocomposites were synthesized via three main steps: (i) the synthesis of ZnFe 2 O 4 nanoparticles by a sol-gel method; (ii) the adsorption of PVC in tetrahydrofuran solution by ZnFe 2 O 4 nanoparticles to form ZnFe 2 O 4 /PVC nanocomposites; and (iii) the dehydrochlorination of PVC in the ZnFe 2 O 4 /PVC nanocomposites by heating at 150 °C for 2 h. X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy characterization revealed that the as-synthesized product was core/shell structured ZnFe 2 O 4 /CPVC nanocomposites. The photocatalytic results demonstrated that the ZnFe 2 O 4 /CPVC nanocomposites had much higher photocatalytic activity than ZnFe 2 O 4 nanoparticles in the reduction of aqueous Cr(VI) under visible-light (λ>420 nm) irradiation. Thus, ZnFe 2 O 4 /CPVC nanocomposites are promising for use as a new efficient visible-light-driven photocatalyst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]