POLYANILINE IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL SCENARIO: AN APPROACH ON HETEROGENEOUS PHOTOCATALYSIS

Polyaniline is a conducting polymer that has recently been studied regarding its potential in the removal of contaminants by heterogeneous photocatalysis. Since it is a polymer with a high absorption capacity of photons in the visible region, it promotes the photosensitization of catalysts that are typically inactive in solar systems. The increasing number of publications applying photocatalysis and composite catalysts based on polyaniline highlights the importance of this subject. This review systematizes the most important and specific contributions of composite catalysts formed by polyaniline. The main mechanisms proposed for photosensitization, which show the synergism between the phases of the composite, are summarized. Moreover, the relevance of morphology and conductivity of the composite catalyst, operating parameters (eg. pH, and light source contaminant) are some of the aspects discussed, revealing how these differ from traditional catalysts. Future prospects for the continuation and improvement of this issue mainly involve a greater variety of contaminant removal tests and understanding of relations between the structure of the material and its photocatalytic property.