Synthesis and Characterization of Polystyrene/CuO-Fe₂O₃ Nanocomposites from Natural Materials as Hydrophobic Photocatalytic Coatings

• Main Authors: Ratnawulan Ratnawulan, Ramli Ramli, Ahmad Fauzi, Sukma Hayati AE
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-12-01
• Series: Crystals
• Subjects: composite; calcination temperature; contact angle; hydrophobic
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4352/11/1/31

This study reports on the synthesis, characterization of polystyrene(PS)/CuO-Fe₂O₃ nanocomposites, and their application as hydrophobic coatings. CuO and Fe₂O₃ materials were synthesized from natural materials by the milling method. Meanwhile, the PS/CuO-Fe₂O₃ nanocomposites were synthesized by the sol-gel method. Furthermore, the hydrophobic coating on the glass substrate was made by the spin-coating. To obtain highest value of contact angle, the composition of both CuO and Fe₂O₃ in nanocomposite as well as calcination temperatures were varied. Sample characterization was conducted using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and ultraviolet visible (Uv-Vis) spectrophotometry analysis. The Sessile drop method was used to determine the contact angle of the layer. The results showed that PS/CuO-Fe₂O₃ nanocomposite was successfully obtained with a crystal size between 40–52 nm and grain size of 92 nm. In addition to the basic material of composites, hematite and tenorite, the presence of copper ferrite phase was also identified. The CuO-Fe₂O₃ composition and its large calcination temperature also plays an effective role in the magnitude of the contact angle. The highest value of contact angle obtained was 125.46° at 3:1 composition and calcination temperature of 200 °C. We found that the PS/CuO-Fe₂O₃ composite was hydrophobic, but the photocatalyst activity was very small at 0.24%.