Kgolofelo I. Malatjie , Richard M. Moutloali , Ajay K. Mishra , Shivani B. Mishra , Edward N. Nxumalo
{"title":"Novel antifouling and photocatalytic immobilized iron-doped cerium oxide@halloysite nanotubes decorated polyethersulfone membranes","authors":"Kgolofelo I. Malatjie , Richard M. Moutloali , Ajay K. Mishra , Shivani B. Mishra , Edward N. Nxumalo","doi":"10.1016/j.jphotochem.2025.116478","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Novel polyethersulfone (PES) ultrafiltration (UF) membranes were prepared by incorporating different contents of iron-doped cerium oxide-halloysite nanotubes (FC@NHT) nanocomposites onto the PES membranes. The properties of the prepared nanocomposite membranes were investigated using Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermo-gravimetric analyzer (TGA) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results showed that iron dopped cerium oxide (FC) was indeed successfully loaded on the surface of halloysite nanotubes (HNTs). SEM characterization of FC@HNT/PES membranes showed an increase in pore sizes and microvoids which resulted in an increase in both hydrophilicity and flux due to the impact of FC@HNT. Pure water flux of 2% FC@HNT/PES (M4) was increased from 55.9 L.m<sup>−2</sup>.h<sup>−1</sup> (0% FC@HNT/PES) to 320.4 L.m<sup>−2</sup>.h<sup>−1</sup>. The membranes also showed high antifouling properties towards humic acid (HA). This was attributed to the membranes becoming more hydrophilic upon modification. Subsequently, this reduced membrane-foulant hydrophobic interactions and made it difficult for hydrophobic contaminants to be attached onto the membranes surface. Photocatalytic ability of the modified membranes was tested against imidacloprid (IMD) insecticides. The membrane (M4) showed high photocatalytic activity of about 79% in 120 mins and 85.7% in 180 mins. The immobilization of FC onto the surface of the HNTs was for the homogenous dispersion of the nanoparticles and to mitigate the issue of agglomeration. Other remarkable functionalities are also provided by this integration. The membrane’s ability to function as system for water filtration and for the degradation of imidacloprid pesticide with high antifouling propensity is by far its most intriguing aspect of this work.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16782,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology A-chemistry","volume":"468 ","pages":"Article 116478"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1000,"publicationDate":"2025-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology A-chemistry","FirstCategoryId":"92","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1010603025002187","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"CHEMISTRY, PHYSICAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Novel polyethersulfone (PES) ultrafiltration (UF) membranes were prepared by incorporating different contents of iron-doped cerium oxide-halloysite nanotubes (FC@NHT) nanocomposites onto the PES membranes. The properties of the prepared nanocomposite membranes were investigated using Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermo-gravimetric analyzer (TGA) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results showed that iron dopped cerium oxide (FC) was indeed successfully loaded on the surface of halloysite nanotubes (HNTs). SEM characterization of FC@HNT/PES membranes showed an increase in pore sizes and microvoids which resulted in an increase in both hydrophilicity and flux due to the impact of FC@HNT. Pure water flux of 2% FC@HNT/PES (M4) was increased from 55.9 L.m−2.h−1 (0% FC@HNT/PES) to 320.4 L.m−2.h−1. The membranes also showed high antifouling properties towards humic acid (HA). This was attributed to the membranes becoming more hydrophilic upon modification. Subsequently, this reduced membrane-foulant hydrophobic interactions and made it difficult for hydrophobic contaminants to be attached onto the membranes surface. Photocatalytic ability of the modified membranes was tested against imidacloprid (IMD) insecticides. The membrane (M4) showed high photocatalytic activity of about 79% in 120 mins and 85.7% in 180 mins. The immobilization of FC onto the surface of the HNTs was for the homogenous dispersion of the nanoparticles and to mitigate the issue of agglomeration. Other remarkable functionalities are also provided by this integration. The membrane’s ability to function as system for water filtration and for the degradation of imidacloprid pesticide with high antifouling propensity is by far its most intriguing aspect of this work.
期刊介绍:
JPPA publishes the results of fundamental studies on all aspects of chemical phenomena induced by interactions between light and molecules/matter of all kinds.
All systems capable of being described at the molecular or integrated multimolecular level are appropriate for the journal. This includes all molecular chemical species as well as biomolecular, supramolecular, polymer and other macromolecular systems, as well as solid state photochemistry. In addition, the journal publishes studies of semiconductor and other photoactive organic and inorganic materials, photocatalysis (organic, inorganic, supramolecular and superconductor).
The scope includes condensed and gas phase photochemistry, as well as synchrotron radiation chemistry. A broad range of processes and techniques in photochemistry are covered such as light induced energy, electron and proton transfer; nonlinear photochemical behavior; mechanistic investigation of photochemical reactions and identification of the products of photochemical reactions; quantum yield determinations and measurements of rate constants for primary and secondary photochemical processes; steady-state and time-resolved emission, ultrafast spectroscopic methods, single molecule spectroscopy, time resolved X-ray diffraction, luminescence microscopy, and scattering spectroscopy applied to photochemistry. Papers in emerging and applied areas such as luminescent sensors, electroluminescence, solar energy conversion, atmospheric photochemistry, environmental remediation, and related photocatalytic chemistry are also welcome.