Photocatalytic effects and surface morphologies of modified silicone–TiO2 polymer composites

To impart photocatalytic ability to silicone, we prepared composites incorporating 10 wt% TiO2 and studied their photodegradation under UV irradiation. The properties of the modified silicone/TiO2 composites were studied using FTIR, Raman, and UV–vis spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the photoinduced weight loss. We also studied the performance of these modified silicone/TiO2 composites as photocatalysts for the decomposition of the basic dye methylene blue (MB) under UV irradiation. From studies of the weight loss of the modified silicone/TiO2 composites, we found that the composites possessing longer polyoxyethylene chains were more resistant to photodegradation.