Influence of iminodiacetic acid concentration in zinc/polypropylene non-woven fabric for photocatalytic degradation of Benzophenone-3

Benzophenone-3 (BP-3) is a persistent organic pollutant that can cause negative effects, such as the formation of skin cancer in humans when overexposed. This study explores the incorporation of a highly efficient photocatalyst, zinc (Zn) ions into polypropylene non-woven fabric (PNF). This incorporation was achieved by using radiation-induced graft polymerization of PNF, followed by attachment of iminodiacetic acid (IDA) as a polymer ligand exchanger, and subsequently dip coating with zinc acetate (Zn(CH3CO2)2) precursor. The impact of different IDA concentrations of IDA-Zn/PNF photocatalyst on the degradation of BP-3 was investigated using the batch reactor exposed to ultraviolet (UV) radiation. The findings revealed that the most effective concentration of IDA was 0.2 M, resulting in a degradation of up to 92.75% of BP-3 during a time frame of 300 minutes. The IDA-Zn/PNF composites demonstrated significant potential as effective photocatalysts for BP-3 removal, addressing concerns related to catalyst leaching due to the weak binding between the fabric and the semiconductor catalyst.