Effect of formation of micro reaction locations (MRLs) on properties of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes

Micro reaction locations (MRLs) formed in membrane impact the integrated properties of membrane. In this paper, in order to form effective MRLs in PVDF membrane which performs attractive properties, YxFeyZr1-x-yO2 solid superacid coated TiO2 nanotubes (MSYFZr-TiNs) modified by sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (SDBS) are embedded into PVDF to prepare MSYFZr-TiNs/PVDF composite membranes with effective MRLs inside channels and on the surface of membranes. MSYFZr-TiNs and MSYFZr-TiNs/PVDF composite membranes are characterized and tested. The results show that YxFeyZr1-x-yO2 solid superacid with stable tetragonal phase reaches a hammett acidity of − 16.468, decomposing inorganic pollutants or restraining their formation inside channels and surface. The MSYFZr-TiNs/PVDF composite membranes with MRLs perform attractive anti-compaction and anti-fouling properties through MRLs. The water contact angle, stable degradation ratios for oil and Fe2O3 are 36.5°, 13.2% and 12.1%, respectively. Furthermore, when treating oily wastewater, the membrane permeate flux and oil retention ratio are 354 L m−2 h−1 and 93.48%, respectively. Therefore, MSYFZr-TiNs/PVDF composite membranes will possess desirable application in water cleaning.