Hydrogenated TiO2 membrane with photocatalytically enhanced anti-fouling for ultrafiltration of surface water

Abstract

A supported Ti3+ self-doped anatase TiO2 membrane is developed by facile partial-sintering and hydrogenation, and its photocatalytically enhanced anti-fouling in ultrafiltration of surface water is explored. The hydrogenated membranes demonstrate much enhanced photocatalytic activity towards humic acid (HA) degradation, and better anti-fouling capability as compared to the pristine TiO2 membrane. Upon UV irradiation, the hydrogenated TiO2 membrane (TiO2_H30, by 30 h of hydrogenation) shows 60% higher HA removal efficiency, compared with pristine TiO2. During subsequent filtration tests, the TiO2_H30 membrane with UV pre-treatment shows a 50% enhancement of residue normalized flux over that of pristine TiO2, and a tripling of residue normalized flux as compared to tests performed without UV pre-treatment. The enhanced fouling resistance of the hydrogenated TiO2 membranes is directly correlated to the boosted photocatalytic activity, which is attributed to the improved carrier trapping, inhibited recombination, and improved conductivity, due to the hydrogenation-induced surface disorder and Ti3+ self-doping. © 2019 Elsevier B.V.