Preparation and characterization of Pd/Fe bimetallic nanoparticles immobilized in PVDF.Al2O3 membrane for dechlorination of monochloroacetic acid

An innovative matrix composed of a poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) membrane modified by Al2O3 nanoparticles was prepared. Pd/Fe nanoparticles (NPs) were immobilised in the PVDF/Al2O3 membranes, which were initially crosslinked by polyacrylic acid. The PVDF/Al2O3 membranes and the Pd/Fe NPs immobilised in PVDF/Al2O3 were characterised by SEM, EDS and FTIR. Studies showed that the amount of Fe immobilised in the PVDF/Al2O3 membrane was four times more than the amount in a traditional PVDF membrane carrier of the same surface size. Pd/Fe NPs immobilised in PVDF/Al2O3 exhibited high efficiency and stability in terms of dechlorination of monochloroacetic acid. The effects of several important experimental parameters, including the amount of Al2O3 added to PVDF, ferrous concentration in crosslinking solution and Pd content in Pd/Fe NPs, were investigated. The reasons behind the improved properties of the PVDF.Al2O3 membranes are discussed.