Multifunctional graphene oxide–TiO2 microsphere hierarchical membrane for clean water production

The severe scarcity of clean water is arousing concern worldwide. The development of clean water production heavily relies on membrane technology, although the performance of current membranes is significantly restricted by membrane fouling. In this work, a novel graphene oxide (GO)–TiO2 microsphere hierarchical membrane was fabricated through assembling GO–TiO2 microsphere composite on the surface of a polymer filtration membrane. This kind of membrane possesses the multifunction of concurrent water filtration and degradation of pollutants. GO sheets play double roles in GO–TiO2 membrane, including (1) cross linker for individual TiO2 microspheres; and (2) electron acceptor to enhance photocatalytic activity. Hence, this novel membrane shows sustainably high permeate flux due to the hierarchical membrane structure, high photodegradation activity and no membrane fouling. The excellent performance of this GO–TiO2 hierarchical membrane indicates its promising potential in clean water production field.

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► GO–TiO2 microsphere hierarchical membrane was fabricated through assembling GO–TiO2 composite on the surface of a polymer membrane.
► Large specific surface area with porous structure.
► Enhanced charge separation efficiency.
► Sustainably high water flux (ca. 60 L/(m2 h) within 15 h).
► Enhanced strength and flexibility.