Membrane surface modification with TiO₂-graphene oxide for enhanced photocatalytic performance

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• 作者：Yong Gao ; Meng Hu ; Baoxia Mi
• 关键词：Photocatalysis ; Sunlight ; Graphene oxide ; TiO2 ; Surface modification ; Layer-by-layer assembly
• 刊名：Journal of Membrane Science
• 出版年：1 April, 2014
• 年：2014
• 卷：455
• 期：Complete
• 页码：349-356
• 全文大小：2652 K

文摘

Taking advantage of the unique property of graphene oxide (GO) nanomaterials in expanding the light-response range of TiO₂, we modified the surface of water filtration membranes with TiO₂-GO to enhance their photocatalytic activities under both UV and sunlight irradiations. A layer-by-layer approach was employed to sequentially deposit TiO₂ nanoparticles and GO nanosheets on a polysulfone base membrane, with GO partially reduced via ethanol/UV post-treatment. The grafting of TiO₂-GO on the membrane surface was confirmed through the analysis of QCM-D measurements and SEM images. We then studied the photocatalytic properties of the surface-modified membranes in both batch and filtration experiments using methylene blue (MB) as a representative organic contaminant. Compared with polysulfone membranes surface-modified with TiO₂ and GO, respectively, the TiO₂-GO membrane exhibited significantly improved MB photodegradation kinetics under UV (about 60-80% faster) and sunlight (3-4 times faster). Besides, the membrane flux increased as a result of the photo-enhanced hydrophilicity and contaminant degradation. Therefore, surface modification by TiO₂-GO grafting provides a very promising route to the fabrication of high-performance photocatalytic membranes for sustainable water treatment.