An iron (II) phthalocyanine/poly(vinylidene fluoride) composite membrane with antifouling property and catalytic self-cleaning function for high-efficiency oil/water separation

To endow poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) membranes with the performance of fouling resistance and the capability of catalytic degradation of organic contaminants, iron (II) phthalocyanine (FePc) as a modifier was incorporated into PVDF matrix to prepare a novel FePc/PVDF composite membrane via non-solvent induced phase separation technique. ATR-FTIR spectroscopy, XPS , SEM, streaming potential analysis, contact angle measurement and cross-flow filtration test were employed to investigate the influence of modification on membrane property and performance. It was found that the introduction of FePc in PVDF membrane matrix resulted in improved porosity, mean pore size, surface hydrophilicity and negative charge of as-prepared composite membranes, and thereby enhanced membrane permeability and antifouling property. Owing to the presence of Fenton-like catalyst FePc, the composite membranes are imparted the catalytic degradation function for adsorbed organic foulants in soaking H 2 O 2 solution. The catalytic self-cleaning capability of the composite membrane with 2.5 wt% FePc was further proved by fluorescence probe technique which was employed to detect the generation of ·OH radicals in catalytic self-cleaning process. This indicates that the FePc/PVDF composite membrane has a potential application in water treatment with its combined advantage of membrane separation and catalytic self-cleaning.