Evaluation of the antifouling and photocatalytic properties of novel poly(vinylidene fluoride) membranes with a reduced graphene oxide-Bi2WO6 active layer

Immobilization of reduced graphene oxide (RGO)-Bi2WO6 is an ideal method for obtaining antifouling membranes for membrane distillation (MD) processes. Poly(vinylidene fluoride) membranes modified with RGO-Bi2WO6 were successfully obtained with a double-layer coating method through non-solvent-induced phase separation. The water contact angle was improved by about 30 degrees by RGO-Bi2WO6; this indicated that the surface modification obviously increased the membrane hydrophobicity. The high desalination rate proved that all of the prepared membranes were appropriate for the MD process. The RGO-Bi2WO6-modified membranes achieve 26.26%-59.95% removal rates in 10mg/L aqueous ciprofloxacin under visible light for 7.5h. It was possible to erase strongly bound foulants and recover the prepared membrane's permeation flux by 3h of visible-light irradiation. The RGO-Bi2WO6-modified membrane with a high hydrophobicity, fouling mitigation, and photocatalytic capability presents huge potential for the treatment of high-salt antibiotic wastewater use in the MD process. (c) 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017, 134, 45426.