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 .