Grafted multifunctional titanium dioxide nanotube membrane: Separation and photodegradation of aquatic pollutant

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanotube membrane has been fabricated by an energy efficient and environmentally friendly method, grafting anatase TiO2 nanotubes in the channels of alumina microfiltration (MF) membrane using TiF4 solution through liquid-phase deposition. The inner diameters of the TiO2 nanotubes are controllable from 5 to 100 nm by varying the grafting time. The TiO2 nanotube membrane exhibited good photocatalytic activity on photodegradation of HA (humic acid) in batch tests. The satisfying permeability of the TiO2 nanotube membrane was demonstrated by filtration of distilled water and HA. The experiment results of continuous filtration under UV irradiation showed that not only HA was rejected and photodegraded by the TiO2 nanotube membrane, but also the membrane fouling was alleviated dramatically. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.