Highly effective In2O3-rGO catalyst for the photocatalytic degradation of polyethylene under visible light

The waste effluents, such as microplastics, present in the drinking water led to health-related issues for humans and animals. Among various plastic materials, low-density polyethylene (LDPE) in the form of microplastic is one of the major sources of environmental pollution. Thus, there is an urgent need to control pollution due to microplastics for environmental sustainability and the human life cycle. Here, we propose an approach to the degradation of LDPE by using the photocatalysis reaction process. We have used In2O3-rGO nanocomposite-based metal oxide that exhibited effective photocatalytic degradation of polyethylene films when illuminated under visible light with different time durations of 0, 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 h. A substantial variation in surface morphology with pattern formation supports the degradation behavior of visible light-treated films. The XRD results confirm the purity and orthorhombic crystal structure. The Raman measurement results show characteristic modes and reveal the semi-crystalline nature of the films; however, the crystallinity of the films first increases with an increase in illumination time up to 30 h and then decreases. FTIR results indicate variation in the stretching and bending of C–C and CH2 modes in the films, justifying the degradation of LDPE. The thermogravimetric analysis shows a maximum weight loss (99.47%) of the film exposed to visible light for 50 h. The possible mechanism of polyethylene degradation by In2O3–rGO under visible light illumination is also explained.