Translucent Polyvinylidene Difluoride Membrane Incorporated with Titanium Dioxide and Mesoporous Siliceous Phosphotungstic Acid Photocatalyst for Methylene Blue Removal from Wastewater
Abstract
Photocatalytic oxidation is an effective method for degrading organic pollutants in air and water, but suspended photocatalysts, such as titanium dioxide (TiO2), face challenges including recovery difficulties, a large band gap, and a low surface area. In this study, titanium oxide and mesoporous siliceous phosphotungstic acid (TiO2-MPTA) were incorporated into polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) membranes as an alternative to bare TiO2 for methylene blue (MB) removal. Both opaque (O-PVDF/TiO2-MPTA) and translucent (T-PVDF/TiO2-MPTA) membranes were fabricated with TiO2 loadings of 0.5–2.5 wt.% via blending, with translucency designed to enhance light penetration for improved photocatalytic activity. Membranes were characterized by SEM, FTIR, and UV-vis-NIR spectroscopy to assess morphology, chemical composition, and optical properties. Photocatalytic performance was strongly dependent on TiO2-MPTA content. Neat T-PVDF and O-PVDF showed negligible MB removal (~0.8% and ~0.7%, respectively) due to the absence of a photocatalyst. MB degradation increased with loading, reaching 74% for T-PVDF/1.5TiO2-MPTA and 59% for O-PVDF/1.5TiO2-MPTA, before declining at 2.5 wt.% due to catalyst agglomeration. The translucent T-PVDF/1.5TiO2-MPTA membrane outperformed its opaque counterpart by 15%, highlighting the role of light penetration. Enhanced performance is attributed to the mesoporous structure and high surface area (154–625 m²/g) of MPTA-Si, which provides abundant active sites, promotes photon absorption, and reduces electron-hole recombination. These results demonstrate that PVDF/TiO2-MPTA nanocomposite membranes, particularly translucent membranes with optimized loading, are promising for efficient photocatalytic removal of organic dyes from wastewater.
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