Rapid Degradation of Rhodamine B viaPoly(dopamine)-Modified Membranes with Silver Nanoparticles

Rapid and convenient removal of organic dyes from water still remains a great challenge. The fast degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) with NaBH4 as a reducing agent catalyzed by a catalytic membrane fabricated by poly(dopamine)-modified poly(vinylidene difluoride) (PVDF) powders and silver nanoparticles (NPs) is described. Results indicate that the catalytic membrane shows an excellent performance for RhB degradation under a static state and cross-flow catalysis. Compared to static catalysis, cross-flow catalysis can efficiently enhance the degradation of RhB due to the silver NPs and the high flowing rate of reactants on the membrane surface. The penetrated fluid can be directly excluded due to the RhB with a high conversion coming out from the membrane pores with silver NPs. The convenient operation avoids additional steps to separate catalysts from the system and, therefore, has a promising potential in degradation of organic dyes.