Photocatalytic degradation of polyhydroxybutyrate films using titanium dioxide nanoparticles as a photocatalyst

Photocatalytic degradation of polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) polymeric films (30 μm thickness) containing different concentrations of titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles under ultraviolet (UV) irradiation (λmax = 313 nm) has been studied. The activity of TiO2 (0.001-0.005%) as a photocatalyst was determined by monitoring various functional group indices, weight loss in polymeric films and photodegradation rate constant (kd) with irradiation time. Photodegradation was found to be highly dependent on the TiO2 nanoparticles concentration and the UV irradiation time. The rate of PHB sample photodegradation was highest when the concentration of TiO2 was 0.005% (by weight) and lowest when its concentration was 0.001%.