Abstract
Photocatalytic membranes are crucial in addressing membrane fouling issues. However, the grafting amount of the catalyst on the membrane often becomes a key factor in restricting the membrane's self-cleaning capability. To address the challenge, this manuscript proposes a method for solving membrane fouling, featuring high grafting rates of bismuth oxide (Bi(2)O(3)) and acrylic acid (AA), significant contaminant degradation capability, and reusability. A highly photocatalytic self-cleaning microfiltration membrane made of polyvinylidene fluoride bismuth oxide and acrylic acid (PVDF-g-BA) was prepared by attaching nano Bi(2)O(3) and acrylic acid onto the polyvinylidene fluoride membrane through adsorption/deposition and UV grafting polymerization. Compared with pure membranes and pure acrylic grafted membranes (PVDF-g-AA), the modified membrane grafted with 0.5% bismuth oxide not only improves the grafting rate and filtration performance, but also has higher self-cleaning ability. Furthermore, the degradation effect of this membrane on the organic dye methyl violet 2B under visible light irradiation is very significant, with a degradation rate reaching 90% and almost complete degradation after 12 h. Finally, after repeated filtration and photocatalysis, the membrane can still significantly degrade contaminants and can be reused.