Highly hydrophilic poly(vinylidene fluoride)/meso-titania hybrid mesoporous membrane for photocatalytic membrane reactor in water

The high hydrophobicity of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) membrane remains an obstacle to be applied in some purification processes of water or wastewater. Herein, a highly hydrophilic hybrid mesoporous titania membrane composed of mesoporous anatase titania (meso-TiO(2)) materials inside the three-dimensional (3D) macropores of PVDF membrane was successfully prepared by using the dual-templated synthesis method combined with solvent extraction and applied as the photocatalytic membrane reactor for the photodegredation of organic dye in water. The structure and the properties of as-prepared hybrid membranes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), nitrogen adsorption–desorption and contact angle measurements. It was found that the hydrophilicity of PVDF membrane can be significantly improved by filling mesoporous TiO(2) inside the 3D macropores of PVDF membrane. Moreover, such a PVDF/meso-TiO(2) hybrid membrane exhibits promising photocatalytic degradation of dye in water due to the existence of mesoporous anatase TiO(2) materials inside PVDF membrane. This study provides a new strategy to simultaneously introduce hydrophilicity and some desirable properties into PVDF and other hydrophobic membranes.