Plasma-induced poly(acrylic acid)- TiO₂/ZnO nanoparticles coated polyvinylidene fluoride membrane to enhance hydrophilicity

Abstract

Hydrophilic of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) hollow fiber membrane was enhanced through pulse inductively couple plasma (PICP) induced poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) polymerization followed by titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO₂ NPs) and zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) coated. The morphology, chemical composition and hydrophilicity of modified membranes were characterized by SEM, EDX and water contact angle. The result of SEM and EDX analyses found that TiO₂ NPs and ZnO NPs were successfully coated on membrane surface and increased belong to immersion time. In addition, the water contact angle was declined when membrane was modified via PICP induced PAA- 10 ppm TiO₂/ZnO NPs coated at 24 hr from original 73.5° to 51.5°, indicating the modified membrane was enhanced hydrophilicity. Nonetheless, 10 ppm TiO₂ NPs of 24 hr coating time gave the highest hydrophilicity in term of contact angle (34.9°) because of the mixing solution between TiO₂ NPs and ZnO NPs cause agglomeration on membrane surface. However, the modified membrane by PICP induced PAA-TiO₂/ZnO NPS coated has potential in the application for wastewater treatment.