Graphene Oxide/Titanium Dioxide Membranes - PhDData

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Graphene Oxide/Titanium Dioxide Membranes

The thesis was published by , in January 2016, Aalborg University.

Abstract:

During recent years, graphene has been studied intensively because of itsunique characteristics, making it usable for a variety of applications. In order to produce graphene, it is rst necessary to oxidize graphite to grapheneoxide and then reduce it to graphene. Tests have shown that graphene oxidecould possibly be used as a membrane material for water treatment, as itsoxygen-rich functional groups provide high hydrophilicity, while the graphenestructure ensures excellent selectivity. A major limitation in membrane ltration is the fouling phenomena, which is why TiO2 could be of interest inmembrane usage. TiO2 is used to clean surfaces via its photocatalytic properties.The purpose of this project was therefore to investigate graphene oxide asa membrane material and incorporate TiO2. Dierent graphene oxide syntheses were tested and dierent GO/TiO2 ratios were also tested. The thermal treatment process for reducing graphene oxide was also tested in orderto nd optimal reduction time and temperature for stable membranes. Thethermal reduction was evaluated using X-ray diraction (XRD), dierentialscanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and Fouriertransform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The surface characteristics were examined before and after UV-C irradiation, in order to see if the TiO2 providedsignicant changes. Surface characteristics were analyzed using drop shapeanalysis (DSA), zeta potential measurements and FT-IR. The vapor permeance of the membranes produced was tested with water, ethanol and hexane.Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was also done in order to see any potential membrane damage as a result of UV-C irradiation. The membrane surfacecharacteristics and permeance were compared to that of two commercial membranes; Alfa Laval NF99HF and NFT50.By comparing the dierent syntheses via XRD and FT-IR, it was concludedthat the Tour’s method was best suited for further experiments. From the reduction experiments done, it was found that reduction at 140â—¦C for one hourproduced the most stable and hydrophilic membranes. The optimal GO/TiO2ratio was found to be in the range of 15:1 – 30:1. The TiO2 added to thegraphene oxide membranes was found to signicantly enhance hydrophilicityand anti-fouling properties, caused by the formation of hydroxyl groups at thesurface. SEM tests were inconclusive as to whether the membrane is damaged by the photocatalytic activity of TiO2. The water vapor permeance wasfound to be close to unimpeded and at least 55% higher than the commercialmembranes tested



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