Preparation and characterization of nano-Agl/poly-mercaptopropylmethyl-silsesquioxane and investigation of its photo-catalytic activity for Rhodamine B degradation under visible light irradiation

摘要

Poly(mercapto-methyl)silsesquioxanes (PMMSQ) were prepared using the base catalyzed sol-gel processing on methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS) and 3-mercaptopropyltriethoxysilane (MPTES) with 5:5, 4:6 and 3:7 M ratios in mixture of methanol and water. The PMMSQ which prepared with 3:7 M ratio of MTMS:MPTES gives the product by 4:6 ratio, according to the elemental analysis, and it was chosen for grafting silver iodide and it was applied to the photo-catalytic degradation of Rhodamine B in aqueous solution under visible light irradiation. The degradation yield was studied by UV-Vis spectroscopy and the procedure was optimized for the parameters involved such as the amount of catalyst. The stability of the catalyst and the mechanism of the catalytic process were also investigated.