Incorporation of different polymeric additives for polyvinylidene fluoride membrane fabrication and its performance on methylene blue rejection and antifouling improvement.

Abstract

Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)/titanium dioxide (TiO2)/graphene oxide (GO)-based hybrid membrane was blended with polymer additive of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) through phase inversion method. A triple-tail surfactant was utilised to assist the initial GO synthesis and achieve better GO dispersion in the polymer matrix. The effect of incorporating different polymer additives was investigated based on methylene blue (MB) dye rejection and antifouling performance. Experimental results showed that the incorporation of PVP in the polymer matrix resulted in the highest pure water flux (635.897 l/m2‧h) and permeability (255.833 l/m2 h‧MPa) as well as 57.56% MB dye rejection rate. Interestingly, PVDF-TiO2/GO/PMMA presented higher dye rejection rate (79.18%) and flux recovery ratio (FRR) value (86.46%) than other fabricated membranes. Overall, the incorporation of different polymer additives successfully alters the morphology, properties, and performance of the membrane.