Abstract

Molecular imprinted polymers (MIPs) are sort of custom-made material that can recognize the compounds selectively. Due to its unique qualities such as low cost, resilience and high selectivity, MIPs have sparked tremendous research interest in Photocatalysis, Extraction and sensing applications. The MIPs were developed using [6]-gingerol as template molecule Itaconic acid as monomer, EGDMA as crosslinker and the reaction was proceeded through Exsitu polymerization method using AIBN as initiator to prepare MIPs. The CdS Quantum Dots (QDs) was also employed in the synthesis to develop MIPs hybrid nanocomposite. The physicochemical properties of the MIPs polymer nano catalyst were investigated using a variety of spectroscopic and microscopic techniques. XRD, FESEM, were employed to analyze crystalline size and morphology of synthesized QDs and MIPs hybrid composite and the size of the QDs was found to be 6 nm. Thermogravimetric and differential scanning calorimeter were used to study thermal properties of the composite. Electrochemical study was also performed by using cyclic voltammetry and impedance spectroscopy. The energetic features of hybrid organic inorganic composites of CdS with Molecular imprinted polymers based on gingerol extract is presented using a DFT approach. Results demonstrate that the addition of MIPs contribute to stabilization of occupied states at Valence band which may enhance the photocatalytic properties by stabilization of freshly formed exciton due to light excitation. The composite was employed to investigate the photodegradation of imidacloprid and Buprofezin under visible light source and the highest degradation efficiency was found to be 84%(Imidacloprid) and 80%(Buprofezin) with varying amount of catalyst.