Enhanced anti-fouling and self-cleaning performances of GO/Ce-TiO2-PVDF ultrafiltration membrane under UV light induction

In this work, a new polyvinylidene fluoride nano-ultrafiltration membrane modified by graphene oxide/ titanium dioxide doped with cerium composite materials (GO/Ce-TiO 2 -PVDF) was prepared by phase inversion method. The water contact angle, porosity, pore size distribution , and photocatalytic performance of the membrane were studied. Compared with the PVDF membrane, the water contact angle of the modified membrane decreased to 36.5°, the pure water flux improved to 119.64 L·m -2 ·h -1 , and the retention rate of bovine serum albumin (BSA) was 95.3%. The synergistic effect of GO and Ce-TiO 2 could improve the photocatalytic activity of the composite membrane , and the degradation rate of BSA was 97.4%. The flux recovery rate (FRR) of the modified membrane was 82.38%, which was 22.24% higher than that of the PVDF membrane (67.39%). The FRR of the modified membrane increased to 91.54% under water cleaning and UV irradiation. Five cycle experiments showed that the permeate flux of the polluted membrane was further restored from 78.45 L·m -2 ·h -1 to 76.95 L·m -2 ·h -1 after UV irradiation, and the retention rate of BSA was maintained at about 95%. Therefore, as predicted, the GO/Ce-TiO 2 -PVDF membrane could be widely applied in the water treatment industry due to its high anti-fouling and self-cleaning performances.