Investigation on polysulfone blended NH2-MIL125 (Ti) membrane for photocatalytic degradation of Methylene Blue dye

Abstract

Membrane hybrid processes represent innovative separation technologies in which each technique complements the advantages and overcomes the challenges of the other. Dye removal from wastewater is an application for which membrane hybrid processes are widely applied. The focus of this study is also on development of a membrane hybrid process for dye removal from wastewater. Different proportions of NH2-MIL125(Ti) were embedded in a PSf polymeric membrane through the phase inversion method and the membrane performance was evaluated for the degradation of a Methylene Blue dye under three different light conditions of dark environment, UV and visible light irradiation. The synthesized membranes were characterized by FTIR, XRD, and FE-SEM measurements. NH2-MIL125(Ti) nanoparticles were successfully entrapped in the PSf membrane through a simple phase inversion method and addition of NH2-MIL125(Ti) to the PSf membrane resulted in the improvement of membrane porosity. Up to 60% of dye degradation was observed with the 1% NH2-MIL125(Ti)/PSf nanocomposite membrane after 300 minutes of UV light irradiation. Degradation kinetics followed a pseudo first order model, evidence of possible changes in the membrane properties upon irradiation with simulated solar radiation.

Keywords

• polysulfone
• photocatalyst
• membrane
• dye removal
• mof