Modified ceramic membrane with temperature responsiveness and self-cleaning property for efficient separation and catalysis

Composite membrane that integrating catalytic degradation with membrane separation offers a promising solution for one-step treatment of complex wastewater. However, the challenge of membrane fouling by multi-component pollutants, impedes their broader applications. Herein, building on previous work, temperature responsive polymers are grafted onto a nano-Ag decorated ceramic substrate for enhanced dye removal and anti-fouling property. The grafting process is optimized in terms of reaction temperature (75 ℃), reaction time (4 h), and monomer concentration (VMDMO: 0.01 M, MATE: 0.02 M, DMAEMA: 0.04 M). The morphology of the membrane surface after each modification step is characterized by FESEM. The prepared composite membrane manifests temperature-responsive property. As the temperature rises from 20 °C to 85 °C, the pure water flux of the membrane increases from 68.8 L m-2h−1 to 434.4 L m-2h−1 (0.1 MPa), reflecting a six-fold enhancement. And this temperature response is reversible. In oil-in-dye containing water treatment, the composite membranes demonstrate an oil separation efficiency exceeding 98.0 % and a dye degradation efficiency surpassing 99.0 %. By elevating the ambient temperature, the flux recovery of the composite membrane is 91.2 %, which is much higher than that of the original membrane (58.8 %). This is ascribed to the physical configuration and wettability changes of the grafted polymers at different temperature, which facilitate the release of foulants. This study introduces a novel strategy (surface modification with temperature responsive polymer) for preparing anti-fouling ceramic composite membrane with the function of catalytic degradation of dyes. It would have potential applications in environmental remediation.