A photo-Fenton nanocomposite ultrafiltration membrane for enhanced dye removal with self-cleaning properties

Membrane fouling is an ongoing challenge in the membrane filtration process. Herein, a photocatalytic membrane comprising a reactive layer was fabricated by engineering partially reduced graphene oxide/Ag nanoparticles/MIL-88A (prGO/Ag/M88A, pGAM) photocatalysts on the PVDF substrate membranes. Benefiting from the high conductivity of prGO and the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect of Ag nanoparticles (Ag NPs), the photo-sensitivity of the prGO/Ag/M88A is significantly enhanced. Compared to the membrane in the dark condition, the pGAM membrane displayed an enhanced dye removal efficiency (similar to 99.7%) and significantly improved permeability (similar to 189 L.m(2).h(-1) bar(-1)) towards dye contaminants based on the synergistic filtration/photo-Fenton processes. Significantly, the membrane retained high perm-selectivity after 10 cyclic runs (183 L.m(2).h(-1) bar(-1)1 of permeability and 98.1% of dye removal), and its nano-channel structure did not collapse under high pressure (0.1- 0.4 MPa). The membrane also exhibits antifouling properties with a high water flux recovery of more than 90%. In addition, the pGAM membrane exhibited a high MB degradation efficiency (similar to 90%) when it is directly used as a photocatalyst in the photo-Fenton system. The mechanism of the self-cleaning is also proposed through quenching experiments. The results of this study demonstrate that this self-cleaning membrane has huge promise for membrane anti-fouling and wastewater remediation. (c) 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This study successfully prepared a photocatalytic membrane with enhanced photo-sensitivity and permeability, achieving efficient dye removal and water flux recovery, while maintaining a stable structure under high pressure. Additionally, the membrane also demonstrated high degradation efficiency when used as a photocatalyst in the photo-Fenton system.