Photocatalytic microporous membrane against the increasing problem of water emerging pollutants

Martins PM, Ribeiro JM, Teixeira S, Petrovykh DY, Cuniberti G, Pereira L, Lanceros-Mendez S (2019)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2019

Journal

Materials MDPI

Book Volume: 12

Article Number: 1649

Journal Issue: 10

DOI: 10.3390/ma12101649

Abstract

Emerging pollutants are an essential class of recalcitrant contaminants that are not eliminated from water after conventional treatment. Here, a photocatalytic microporous membrane based on polyvinylidene difluoride-co-trifluoroethylene (PVDF-TrFE) with immobilised TiO2 nanoparticles, prepared by solvent casting, was tested against representative emerging pollutants. The structure and composition of these polymeric membranes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, porosimetry, and contact angle goniometry. The nanocomposites exhibited a porous structure with a uniform distribution of TiO2 nanoparticles. The addition of TiO2 did not change the structure of the polymeric matrix; however, it increased the wettability of the nanocomposite. The nanocomposites degraded 99% of methylene blue (MB), 95% of ciprofloxacin (CIP), and 48% of ibuprofen (IBP). The microporous nanocomposite exhibited no photocatalytic efficiency loss after four use cycles, corresponding to 20 h of UV irradiation. The reusability of this system confirms the promising nature of polymer nanocomposites as the basis for cost-effective and scalable treatments of emerging pollutants.

Involved external institutions

Universidade do Minho PT Portugal (PT) Technische Universität Dresden DE Germany (DE) INL - International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory PT Portugal (PT)

How to cite

APA:

Martins, P.M., Ribeiro, J.M., Teixeira, S., Petrovykh, D.Y., Cuniberti, G., Pereira, L., & Lanceros-Mendez, S. (2019). Photocatalytic microporous membrane against the increasing problem of water emerging pollutants. Materials, 12(10). https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12101649

MLA:

Martins, Pedro M., et al. "Photocatalytic microporous membrane against the increasing problem of water emerging pollutants." Materials 12.10 (2019).

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