Novel MAX phase/polyaniline nanocomposite for photocatalytic degradation of toxic industrial dye.

• Novel MAX Phase/Polyaniline nanocomposites as a photocatalyst for the degradation of industrial dyes. • Facile and one pot synthesis of MAX phase/polyaniline nanocomposite. • Introduction of the MAX phase into the polymer matrix resulted in enhanced photocatalytic efficiency. • The development of cost-effective and highly efficient catalyst. Among various treatment methods photocatalysis is considered the most efficient method owing to the high efficiency and use of abundant sunlight. The use of photocatalysts not only removes harmful bacteria but also degrades toxic organic pollutants. From TiO 2 by Fujiyama and Honda (1972) as photocatalyst, the materials studies have been evolved, chemically, and morphologically modified for higher competency. It is known that the preparation of nanocomposites and hybrid materials leads to enhanced performance over pristine materials. Therefore, this paper reports preparation of MAX phase-polyaniline nanocomposite as an excellent photocatalyst for degradation of pollutant model dye, methyl orange (MO). The photocatalysts' performance was measured through the degradation of MO dye under solar light irradiation. It was found that the nanocomposites exhibits better performance than the pure polymer and MAX phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]