A facile TiO2/PVDF composite membrane synthesis and their application in water purification

In this work, we have demonstrated a facile wet chemical method to synthesise TiO2/PVDF composite membranes as alternative water purification method to traditional polymer-based membrane. For the first time, hydrothermally grown TiO2 nanofibers under alkali conditions were successfully inserted into PVDF membranes matrix. The structure, permeability and anti-fouling performance of as-prepared PVDF/TiO2 composite membranes were studied systematically. The TiO2/PVDF composite membranes prepared in this work promise great potential uses in water purification applications as microfiltration membranes due to its excellent physical/chemical resistance, anti-fouling and mechanical properties.