Adhesive-free in situ synthesis of a coral-like titanium dioxide@poly(phenylene sulfide) microporous membrane for visible-light photocatalysis

Nanosized titanium dioxide (TiO 2 )-based materials are regarded as an effective approach for disposing organic pollutants. However, their wide bandgap, rapid electron/hole recombination, poor chemisorption , and aggregation limit their photoactivity and photocatalytic efficiency. In this study, the coupling of TiO 2 and a conjugated polymer membrane is created to improve the photoactivity and photocatalytic efficiency of TiO 2 . Nanosized TiO 2 with high crystallinity is synthesized on the surface of the pretreated poly(phenylene sulfide) (PPS) porous membrane through the in situ hydrothermal process. Strong interaction forms between the prepared TiO 2 and the membrane matrix, which leads to the efficient migration and transfer of electron-hole pairs. As a result, the band gap and the electron/hole recombination rate of TiO 2 significantly decrease. The TiO 2 @PPS membrane possesses better adsorption capacity compared with the photocatalyst consisting of individual TiO 2 , which will greatly increase the photocatalytic efficiency. Various dyes can be degraded almost completely after being irradiated for 90 min under visible light. In a word, it may provide a facile approach for preparing a photocatalytic membrane with a high catalyst loading amount, a large chemisorption capacity, and high visible-light photoactivity.