Abstract
The approach of the present work is based on the use of poly (methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) polymer, which is compatible with PVDF and TiO2 nanoparticles in casting solutions, for the preparation of nano-composites membranes using a safer and more compatible solvent. TiO2 embedded poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)/PMMA photocatalytic membranes were prepared by phase inversion method. A non-solvent induced phase separation (NIPS) coupled with vapor induced phase separation (VIPS) was used to fabricate flat-sheet membranes using a dope solution consisting of PMMA, PVDF, TiO2, and triethyl phosphate (TEP) as an alternative non-toxic solvent. Membrane morphology was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Backscatter electron detector (BSD) mapping was used to monitor the inter-dispersion of TiO2 in the membrane surface and matrix. The effects of polymer concentration, evaporation time, additives and catalyst amount on the membrane morphology and properties were investigated. Tests on photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) were also carried out using the membranes entrapped with different concentrations of TiO2. The results of this study showed that nearly 99% MB removal can be easily achieved by photocatalysis using TiO2 immobilized on the membrane matrix. Moreover, it was observed that the quantity of TiO2 plays a significant role in the dye removal.
Highlights
Achieving a high water quality will be the major environmental stress issue in the coming decades
The ability of triethyl phosphate (TEP) to dissolve PVDF has been already studied in previous works through the comparison of their Hansen solubility parameters [52,56]
A large number of studies have focused on the phase diagrams of PVDF solutions in relation to the cloud point temperature at which a clear polymer solution becomes more viscous and cloudy [57,58,59]
Summary
Achieving a high water quality will be the major environmental stress issue in the coming decades. The combination of the membrane separation with the photocatalysis process is called photocatalytic membranes reactor (PMRs) and it represents an efficient, low cost and environmentally friendly technology with a great potential in water/wastewater treatment. Many studies have been devoted in improving or varying PVDF membranes properties adopting several techniques such as physical blending, chemical grafting, and surface modifications [33,34,35] Among these various methods, the blending with various polymers has the advantage of easy preparation by the phase inversion technique. Considering that photocatalytic composite membranes using alternative solvents have not been thoroughly investigated, the preparation of nano-composite blend PVDF/PMMA membranes containing TiO2 using a more compatible solvent is reported and discussed in this work for the first time. The photocatalytic activity of the membranes was evaluated by following the methylene blue (MB) degradation in water under UV light irradiation
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