Polysulfone Ultrafiltration Membrane Promoted by Brownmillerite SrCuxCo1-xO3-λ-Deposited MCM-41 for Industrial Wastewater Decontamination: Catalytic Oxidation and Antifouling Properties

A polysulfone (PSf) ultrafiltration (UF) membrane without a chemical reaction process is unable to deeply clean industrial wastewater and prone to fouling. In this work, a 30 mol % Cu-substituted brownmillerite SrCuxCo1-xO3-lambda (SCC37, lambda >= 0.5)-deposited MCM-41 hybrid catalyst with 40 wt % SCC37 (SCCM-40%) was synthesized and then blended into the PSI membrane by the phase inversion method. The resultant PSf/SCCM UF membrane with catalytic oxidation and antifouling properties was tested via peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation. As characterized by transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analyses, the SCC37 catalysts (5-10 nm) with a brownmillerite structure were evenly scattered on the surface of MCM-41. Notably, the uniform distribution of SCCM-40% in the composite membrane was contributed to the favorable degradation capacity for membrane-permeable rhodamine B (RhB) because of the massive O-1(2) and SO4 center dot- generated by PMS activation. The RhB degradation effect of the membrane remained high in the pH range of 3-9 and in the presence of humic acid. Moreover, the PSf/SCCM UF membrane demonstrated favorable long-term self-cleaning and antifouling properties after a PMS-based cleaning process. The results highlight the potential of this catalytic UF membrane in the treatment of industrial wastewater.