Novel polyvinylidene fluoride/lead-doped zinc oxide adsorptive membranes for enhancement of the removal of reactive textile dye

Abstract

Novel hybrid polyvinylidene fluoride/lead-doped zinc oxide nanoparticles ultrafiltration membranes were successfully fabricated for the removal of Reactive Black 5 textile dye. The matrix membranes embedded with various weights of nanoparticles (5, 10 and 20 wt% of polyvinylidene fluoride) prepared by non-solvent induced phase separation wet process method. The membranes’ morphology structure, surface, chemical composition and hydrophilicity were characterized by scanning electron microscope, energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometer analysis and water contact angle. The performances in terms of permeability, porosity, permeate flux and capacities of Reactive Black 5 textile dye retention were evaluated. Whereas the addition of low concentration of lead-doped zinc oxide nanoparticles doesn’t significantly modify polyvinylidene fluoride membranes structure and performance, the addition of 20 wt% of nanoparticles to casting solution modified the morphology, led to reduce the contact angle from 77° to 67° and enhanced the hydrophilicity of membranes. Static sorption and dynamic filtration were performed to evaluate the capacity of membrane to remove the Reactive Black 5 dye. Results showed the polyvinylidene fluoride/lead-doped zinc oxide composite membranes exhibit high efficiency in the adsorption and retention of Reactive Black 5 textile dye in comparison with polyvinylidene fluoride neat. The addition of 20 wt % of nanoparticles in membrane matrix showed high color removal rate (98%) and high adsorption properties in comparison with pure polyvinylidene fluoride membrane. With simple water cleaning, without addition of any chemical agent, the membranes recovered high performance.