Self-cleaning Anti-fouling TiO2/Poly(aryl ether sulfone) Composite Ultrafiltration Membranes

A series of novel TiO₂/poly(aryl ether sulfone) ultrafiltration membranes with anti-fouling and self-cleaning properties was designed and prepared. First, anti-photocatalytic degraded fluorine contained poly(aryl ether sulfone) matrix(PAES-F) was synthesized. Then the composite membranes were prepared via TiO₂ nanoparticles and PAES-F polymer matrix by solution blending and non-solvent induced phase inversion methods. Further, separation efficiency, fouling behavior and self-cleaning property of the composite ultrafiltration(UF) membranes were investigated by dead-end filtration experiments using a polyacrylamide solution. The composite UF membranes exhibited outstanding self-cleaning efficiency and anti-photocatalytic degraded property after exposure to simulated sunlight irradiation. The water flux recovery ratios(F_RR) of the optimal composite UF membranes could reach 74.24%, which was attributable to photocatalytic degradation of the organic contaminant by TiO₂. And the retention rates of the composite UF membranes could maintain over 97%, which indicated the excellent photocatalytic degradation resistance of the fluorine contained PAES-F matrix. The novel high performance composite UF membranes have a broad application prospect in water treatment.