Processable graphene oxide-embedded titanate nanofiber membranes with improved filtration performance

Graphene oxide (GO)-embedded titanate nanofiber (TNF) membranes with improved filtration performance are prepared successfully by a two-step method including electrostatic assembly of GO and TNFs into hybrids and subsequent processing of them into membranes by vacuum filtration. The embedded contents of GO sheets in films and thickness of as-assembled films can be adjusted facilely, endowing such composite films with good processability. Owing to the skilful introduction of GO sheets, the pore and/or channel structures in these hybrid membranes are modified. By treating different dye solutions (Direct Yellow and Direct Red), the filtration properties of these membranes show that the introduction of certain amount of GO sheets efficiently improve the separation performance of the membranes. Interestingly, these GO-embedded TNF membranes also display superior selective separation performance on filtrating the mixture solutions of such two dyes, making these hierarchical membranes more flexible and versatile in water treatment areas. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.