Chemical Vapor Deposition of Photocatalyst Nanoparticles on PVDF Membranes for Advanced Oxidation Processes

The chemical binding of photocatalytic materials, such as TiO2 and ZnO nanoparticles, onto porous polymer membranes requires a series of chemical reactions and long purification processes, which often result in small amounts of trapped nanoparticles with reduced photocatalytic activity. In this work...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Giovanni De Filpo, Elvira Pantuso, Katia Armentano, Patrizia Formoso, Gianluca Di Profio, Teresa Poerio, Enrica Fontananova, Carmen Meringolo, Alexander I. Mashin, Fiore P. Nicoletta
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2018-06-01
Series:Membranes
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/8/3/35
Description
Summary:The chemical binding of photocatalytic materials, such as TiO2 and ZnO nanoparticles, onto porous polymer membranes requires a series of chemical reactions and long purification processes, which often result in small amounts of trapped nanoparticles with reduced photocatalytic activity. In this work, a chemical vapor deposition technique was investigated in order to allow the nucleation and growth of ZnO and TiO2 nanoparticles onto polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) porous membranes for application in advanced oxidation processes. The thickness of obtained surface coatings by sputtered nanoparticles was found to depend on process conditions. The photocatalytic efficiency of sputtered membranes was tested against both a model drug and a model organic pollutant in a small continuous flow reactor.
ISSN:2077-0375