Industrial organic pollution in aquatic environments is an issue that has become more relevant in recent years especially since many ecosystems are now cornered by climate change, habitat loss, and other human activity. Harnessing photocatalysis by using buoyant polymer beads as a substrate is crucial in solving this decades old problem. Our group has previously synthesized polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) beads with incorporated titanium dioxide that effectively degraded organic material. Similar beads composed of polystyrene rather than PDMS are a cheaper alternative. Dispersion polymerization was used to synthesize small, polystyrene beads. Experiments focused on achieving a surface structure with high porosity to maximize the amount of titanium dioxide that could be incorporated. Trials indicated that heating a mixture of the monomer styrene, a cross linker, an initiator, a surfactant, and water was conducive to producing beads. After achieving the ideal bead structure, further experiments that included titanium dioxide in the reactant mixture yielded solid bead product. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy confirmed titanium dioxide had been successfully incorporated into the beads’ surface structure. Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy trials were done to assess the polystyrene beads’ effectiveness in degrading organic material. Data showed that methylene blue degraded faster in the presence of the beads than it did alone.

Polystyrene beads with incorporated photocatalyst

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