Article pubs.acs.org/IECR
Enhancement of the Antifouling Properties and Filtration Performance of Poly(ethersulfone) Ultrafiltration Membranes by Incorporation of Nanoporous Titania Nanoparticles Ze-Xian Low,† Zhouyou Wang,† Sookwan Leong,† Amir Razmjou,† Ludovic F. Dumée,‡ Xiwang Zhang,† and Huanting Wang*,† †
Department of Chemical Engineering, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia Institute for Frontier Materials, Deakin University, Pigdons Road, 3216 Waurn Ponds, Victoria, Australia
‡
ABSTRACT: Nanoporous titania nanoparticles (NTNs) were synthesized and used as an additive at a low concentration of 0.1−1 wt % in the fabrication of poly(ethersulfone) (PES) ultrafiltration membranes via non-solvent-induced phase separation. The structure and properties of nanoparticles were characterized using nitrogen sorption, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The NTNs have a size distribution with a particle size of mainly 1 wt % (relative to polymer solution) were used in terms of harnessing their photocatalytic/antibacterial activity.11−18 However, the combination with UV irradiation may introduce the risk of polymeric membrane degradation, and UV irradiation is not practicable for hollow fiber or spiral wound membrane modules. High loadings of nanoparticles may be unfavorable considering the aggregation tendency of particles, and membrane pores could be plugged by the particle aggregates during non-solvent-induced phase separation (NIPS); this could adversely affect the membrane performance. Recently, Sotto et al. used low TiO2 concentrations (
