Synthesis and characterisation of TiO₂ nanofibre/cellulose acetate nanocomposite ultrafiltration membrane

Abstract

Nanofibres of TiO 2 were synthesised by hydrothermal routine. Cellulose acetate/TiO 2 nanofibre composite membranes were synthesised via blending TiO 2 nanofibre in cellulose acetate solutions in 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidone. In order to study the effect of addition of nanofibre, membranes with various composition were synthesised, first by keeping cellulose acetate to 1-methyl-2pyrrolidone ratio constant and second by decreasing cellulose acetate concentration with increasing addition of TiO 2 nanofibre. The membranes were characterised using scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction. Hydrophilicity of the membranes was evaluated in terms of contact angle measurements and water uptake study. Permeation characteristics were determined in terms of pure water flux and bovine serum albumin rejection. Antifouling property was studied in terms of flux recovery after rejection. Remarkable improvement in membrane flux and antifouling properties is achieved by the addition of TiO 2 nanofibres.

Preparation and characterization of nanocellulose coating modified by titanium dioxide

“…However, the missing roughness in microscale and nanoscale led to it showing water-superabsorbent states after UV illumination. Neelapala et al (2017) successfully incorporated TiO2 into cellulose acetate (CA) via phase inversion and then fabricated nanocomposite membranes. The addition of TiO2 resulted in a decrease in finger-like projection and formed spongy structure, so the hydrophilicity of the CA membrane and the antifouling property significantly improved.…”

Improved Hydrophilicity of Membrane by Ethylenediaminetetraacetic Acid Modification

“…Attempts have been done by researchers to improve the hydrophilicity of cellulosic membranes, as shown in Table 1. Benavente et al [5], Pereira et al [6] and Neelapala et al [7] improved the hydrophilicity of membranes by using nanoparticles. The findings showed that the modified membranes exhibited excellent E-coli inhibition, high flux and low contact angle properties.…”