Sol-gel membrane modification for enhanced photocatalytic activity

Several photocatalytic experiments were conducted and reproducibility was tested using the most promising membranes in terms of photodegradation potential that reached up to 72% degradation of methylene blue. Comparison of UV degradation efficiency between unmodified and modified substrates revealed a synergistic effect when TiO2 and SiC were combined. The most promising membrane in terms of photocatalytic effectiveness and reusability was modified with SiO2 obtained by sol-gel combined with Degussa TiO2 nanoparticles. This membrane was used in a dead-end filtration system combined with UV light. Results confirmed the photocatalytic activity of the membrane combined with filtration, showing that the modified membranes have a high potential to degrade organic contaminants.