Fabrication of Hollow Fiber Supported TiO2 Ultrafiltration Membranes via Ultrasound-assisted Sol-Gel Method

doi:10.15541/jim20220185

Abstract

Abstract:

TiO₂ membranes have been applied in ultrafiltration (UF) separation due to their strong hydrophilicity and good thermochemical stability, but most of them are tubular membranes with low permeation flux and time-consuming preparation. To improve the flux and save the preparation time of TiO₂ membrane, hollow fiber supported TiO₂ UF membranes were prepared via ultrasound-assisted Sol-Gel method by using tetrabutyl titanate as precursor. Effects of acid/titanium molar ratio, ultrasound time and calcination temperature on TiO₂ sols and UF performance of membranes were investigated extensively. The results showed that when the acid/titanium ratio was 0.25, the obtained TiO₂ sol showed an average particle size of 3252 nm, which would be reduced to 1817 nm after ultrasonic treatment for 30 s. Coating with the above TiO₂ sol, defect-free TiO₂ UF membrane with average thickness of 1 μm can be prepared on hollow fiber support by calcining at 350 ℃ twice. The pure water flux of the obtained membrane was 145 L·m^-2·h^-1·bar^-1, and the dextran molecular weight at 90% rejection of membrane was 2586 Da with corresponding average pore size of 2.5 nm.

Key words: ultrafiltration membrane, sol, gel, TiO₂, ultrasound-assistance

CLC Number:

TQ174

LÜ Qingyang, ZHANG Yuting, GU Xuehong. Fabrication of Hollow Fiber Supported TiO₂ Ultrafiltration Membranes via Ultrasound-assisted Sol-Gel Method[J]. Journal of Inorganic Materials, 2022, 37(10): 1051-1057.

Figures/Tables 11

Fig. 1 Particle size distribution of TiO2 sols prepared with different acid/titanium ratios (x)

Fig. 2 Surface and cross-section SEM images of TiO2 membranes prepared with different acid/titanium ratios (a1, a2) CM0.25-0-350; (b1, b2) CM0.5-0-350; (c1, c2) CM0.75-0-350

Fig. 3 Particle size distribution of TiO2 sols (S0.25) after ultrasound treatment for different periods

Fig. 4 Surface and cross-section SEM images of TiO2 membranes prepared by sonication for different periods (a1, a2) UM0.25-15-350; (b1, b2) UM0.25-30-350; (c1, c2) UM0.25-45-350

Fig. 5 Schematic diagram of proposed formation mechanism of TiO2 membranes prepared by conventional and ultrasound-assisted Sol-Gel methods

Fig. 6 XRD patterns of TiO2 powders calcined at different temperatures

Fig. 7 Surface SEM and 3D morphologies of TiO2 membranes calcined at different temperatures (a) UM0.25-30-350; (b) UM0.25-30-400; (c) UM0.25-30-450; (d) UM0.25-30-500

Fig. 8 Dextran rejection of TiO2 membranes prepared with different acid/titanium ratios

Fig. 9 Dextran rejection of TiO2 membranes prepared by sonication for different periods

Fig. 10 Dextran rejection of TiO2 membranes calcined at different temperatures

Table 1 Comparison between TiO2 membranes prepared by conventional and ultrasound-assisted sol-gel method

Membrane	Membrane configuration	Calcination temperature/℃	Pore size / nm	Thickness/ μm	Coating number	Water flux/ (L·m^-2·h^-1·bar^-1)	MWCO/ Da	Ref.
P₂₅-TiO₂	Tube	400	3.6	2	4	128	5600	[12]
MXene-TiO₂	Tube	400	6.5	5	1	90	22000	[15]
P123-TiO₂	Tube	400	6.1	2	3	7.16	19000	[19]
CM_0.5-0-350	Hollow fiber	350	4.4	5	3	142	9078	This work
UM_0.25-30-350	Hollow fiber	350	2.5	1	2	145	2586	This work

References 30

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Fabrication of Hollow Fiber Supported TiO₂ Ultrafiltration Membranes via Ultrasound-assisted Sol-Gel Method

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