A Novel Photoactive Nano-Filtration Module Composed of a TiO2 Loaded PVA Nano-Fibrous Membrane on Sponge Al2O3 Scaffolds and Al2O3-(m-ZrO2)/t-ZrO2 Composites

Abstract

Novel photoactive nano-filtration modules composed of a nano-particle TiO2 loaded polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) nano-fibrous membrane on sponge Al2O3 scaffolds and concentric multi-layered Al2O3-(m-ZrO2)/t-ZrO2 composites were successfully prepared using the electro-spinning method, which was also used to load TiO2 into the PVA nano-fiber. The diameter of the PVA-TiO2 nano-fibers was approximately 200 nm. Nano-particle TiO2 with a highly crystalline structure at a ratio of 50% were well-dispersed in the PVA nano-fibrous material. In addition, the PVA-TiO2 membrane was found in the crystallize structure. Methyl Orange (MO) was degraded and became discolored after 5 h of oxidation by the nano-filtration membranes under UV irradiation. Sponge Al2O3 scaffolds and Al2O3-(m-ZrO2)/t-ZrO2 composites were successfully coated with PVA-50%TiO2 fibers with the goal of fabricating a novel nano-filtration membrane. [doi:10.2320/matertrans.M2011039]