Polyethersulfone- CaCu3Ti4O12 hollow fiber membrane with enhanced photocatalytical activity and water permeability

Abstract In this work, CaCu3Ti4O12 (CTs) particles were incorporated in polyethersulfone (PES) matrix to prepared a PES-CT composite membrane via the dry-wet phase inversion process. Synthesized PES-CT composites were characterized using water contact angle, viscosity measurement, atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscope, and adsorption-desorption measurements. The effects of CT particles on the pure water flux (PWF) and photocatalytic activity of the composite membranes were observed via ultrafiltration of distilled water and photodegradation of rhodamine B under UV light exposure, respectively. Upon addition of CT particles in the membrane matrix, the PWF was considerably improved, owning to its improved membrane hydrophilicity. The degradation results revealed a higher photocatalytic efficiency of 74.83 % was obtained when the content of CT particles was 4 wt.% as compared to 55.47 % of the pristine membrane. In summary, the results proved that the PES-CT composite membranes present the best photocatalytic activity due to its improved surface area induced by the CT particles.