A novel photodegradable polyethylene-boron-goethite (PE-B-goethite) composite film was prepared by
embedding the boron-doped goethite into the commercial polyethylene. The goethite catalyst was
modified by boron in order to improve its photocatalytic efficiency under the ultraviolet and visible light
irradiation. Solid-phase photocatalytic degradation of the PE-B-goethite composite film was carried out
in an ambient air at room temperature under ultraviolet and visible light irradiation. The properties of
composite films were compared with those of the pure PE films and the PE-goethite composite films
through performing weight loss monitoring, scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis, FT-IR
spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The photo-induced degradation of PE-Bgoethite
composite films was higher than that of the pure PE films and the PE-goethite composite films
under the UV-irradiation, while there has been little change under the visible light irradiation. The
weight loss of the PE-B-goethite (0.4 wt.%) composite film reached 12.6% under the UV-irradiation for
300 h. The photocatalytic degradation mechanism of the composite films was briefly discussed.
