Surface Morphology and Modulus, Wetting Behavior and Photocatalytic Activity of the TiO<sub>2</sub> Coated Materials Based on PMMA/O-MMT Composite Microfibers

Abstract

Poly(Methyl Methacrylate) PMMA/Organically Modifled Montmorillonite (O-MMT) composite microflbers membrane coated with TiO2 has signiflcant advantages in cationic dyes adsorption and can break down the adsorbed dyes under UV radiation, which is quite useful in water treatment. In this work, PMMA/O-MMT composite microflbers were flrstly prepared by emulsion polymerization combined with electrospinning, and then coated by nanosize TiO2 using RF magnetron sputtering. The efiects of TiO2 sputter coating on morphology and surface modulus was characterized by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), while the wetting behaviour was studied by drop shape analyzer. The photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue was tested under UV radiation and the properties of the treated and untreated samples were compared. It was observed from SEM images that TiO2 was well dispersed and deposited on the surface of PMMA/O-MMT microflbers, while the AFM results showed increase in the surface modulus after TiO2 coating. Besides, the wettability of the microflbers membrane coated with TiO2 was altered, which facilitated water treatment in practical use. Furthermore, the PMMA/O-MMT microflbers membrane coated with TiO2 performed well in photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue. In conclusion, PMMA/O-MMT composite microflbers membrane coated with TiO2 was quite promising in water treatment.