Synthesis of ZnO/PMMA nanocomposite by low-temperature atomic layer deposition for possible photocatalysis applications

Zinc oxide is one of the most widely used semiconductors, thanks to its shallow band-gap of 3.3 eV, low cost, inertness, and abundance in nature. On the other hand, poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) is a common thermoplastic material used in many applications namely because of its transparency, environmental stability, and low cost. The realization of novel inorganic/polymeric hybrid nanomaterials is appealing, being beneficial in a variety of applications including photocatalysis, sensing, energy harvesting and storage, and optoelectronics, but also challenging. In this work, ZnO and PMMA were combined using the atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique. The morphology of the samples was evaluated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), while the crystallinity has been investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses. In order to give a proof of concept of a possible application of the materials synthetized, the photocatalytic activity of the nanocomposites has been tested by the degradation of two organic pollutants in water: methylene blue (MB) dye and sodium lauryl sulfate (SDS), an anionic surfactant. The results have shown that all samples are active in the removal of both pollutants (i.e., MB and SDS), opening the route for the application of the proposed nanocomposites in water treatment.