Polyvinyl Alcohol/Titanium dioxide Fibers Prepared Via Electrospinning Methods for Potential Application of Water Treatment

Authors : Cik Rohaida Che Hak

Pages : 34-39

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Publication Date : 2023-12-31

Article Type : Research

Abstract :Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is an ideal photocatalyst because of its stability in terms of chemical and optical properties. The performance of TiO2 as fiber incorporated in a membrane may be better than in bulk form, especially in applications of water treatment. There are many methods for fabrication of TiO2 in a composite membrane, such as freeze-drying, thermal evaporation, and physi￾cal and chemical vapor deposition. Unfortunately, these methods are not favorable because they require multiple steps, which may produce impurities. Electrospinning is a simple and versatile technique to produce a composite membrane comprised of TiO2. In this study, we propose the fabrication of PVA/TiO2 composite membrane using the electrospinning method for its potential in water treatment. We studied 2 parameters, which are polymer loading and sonication time, to investigate the quality of the electrospun fibers. Morphology and x-ray diffraction analysis showed that the TiO2 particles were well incorporated into the PVA fibers. The ability of these electrospun composite fibers to degrade methylene blue dye under UV exposure confirmed that the PVA/TiO2 fibers can be used in water treatment applications.
Keywords : TiO2, electrospinning, fiber, photodegradation, membrane