Preparation, photocatalytic activity and mechanism of nano-Titania/Nafion hybrid membrane

Nano-Titania/Nafion (TiO(2)/Nafion) hybrid membranes were prepared by recasting, using Nafion solution and TiO(2) anatase hydrosol as the raw materials. The microstructure of the hybrid membrane was characterized by X-ray diffraction, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR). The photocatalytic properties of TiO(2)/Nafion hybrid membranes were evaluated. Furthermore, endurance of photocatalytic activity of the hybrid membrane was investigated. The results indicate that the TiO(2) Nanoparticles are bounded to Nafion molecule via Ti-O-S bonds and the formed flocculates are distributed homogeneously throughout the recasting Nafion membrane, while the initial pure anatase TiO(2) nanoparticles remain intact in re-crystallized membrane. The hybrid membranes possessed excellent photocatalytic activities with and without H(2)O(2). Moreover, the degradation of photocatalytic activities has been better controlled with the presence of H(2)O(2).