Polymer-based TiO2 nanocomposite membrane: synthesis and organic pollutant removal

ABSTRACT Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles are efficient photocatalysis for treating organic pollutants in water. Immobilizing TiO2 nanoparticles not only enables the reuse of nanoparticles but also prevents the harmful impact of releasing nanoparticles into the aquatic environment. In this study, a porous composite microfiber membrane based on polyacrylonitrile (PAN) with TiO2 nanoparticles has been synthesized by electrospinning technique. The new membrane system has exhibited excellent adsorptive-photocatalytic property to degrade Methylene blue (MB). Using the nonlinear form of the pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, Elovich, and Intra-particle diffusion models, the adsorption mechanism was analyzed. Coupling with adsorption and photocatalysis, the efficiency of this membrane system was illustrated via the multistage linear form of the pseudo-first-order kinetic; and the electrical energy per order (EEO) confirmed the lowest energy requirements to transfer selected pollutants. Combining the results of SEM, BET, FTIR, XRD and TGA, it revealed the relationship of microstructure, composition, and MB decomposition performance. The finding presents new knowledge for material design and evaluation of polymers/oxides membrane systems for remediating organic pollutants in water. Graphical abstract