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Cellulose acetate membranes treated with titanium dioxide and cerium dioxide nanoparticles and their nanocomposites for enhanced photocatalytic degradation activity of methylene blue

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Abstract

We report on the photocatalytic degradation activity of methylene blue (MB) using Cellulose acetate (CA) membranes embedded by metal oxide nanoparticles (NPs). Titanium dioxide and Cerium dioxide (TiO2 and CeO2) and their nanocomposites are used as nanofillers in CA membranes to enhance photocatalytic activity. The casted nanocomposite membranes are synthesized using the phase inversion method and characterized using X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and UV–Vis to investigate structural, surface morphological, elemental content, and the optical properties. In particular, surface morphological and optical results are analyzed to elucidate a deeper understanding of porosity and photocatalytic activity via the degradation of the MB dye. The as-prepared CA–NP membranes are tested for photocatalytic degradation of MB by exposing the membrane/MB dye combination to UV illumination for different exposure times. Results reveal that CA–TiO2 membrane exhibits the smallest nanopore size, the most efficient exciton separation, and the largest surface area as compared with CA–CeO2 and CA–TiO2–CeO2-casted membranes. Consequently, CA–TiO2 membrane shows a good cyclic photocatalytic degradation activity (about 64%). Furthermore, the obtained MB degradation activity follows the increasing trend: CA–TiO2 membrane (Energy gap \(\user2{E}_{{\mathbf{g}}} \, = \,3.26\,{\mathbf{eV}},\) Absorption activity \({\varvec{A}}\boldsymbol{\%}=64\boldsymbol{\%}\)) > CA–TiO2–CeO2 membrane (\({{\varvec{E}}}_{\text{g}}=3.33\,{\mathbf{eV}},\boldsymbol{ }{\varvec{A}}\boldsymbol{\%}=15\boldsymbol{\%}\)) > CA–CeO2 (\({{\varvec{E}}}_{\text{g}}=3.4\,{\mathbf{eV}},\boldsymbol{ }{\varvec{A}}\boldsymbol{\%}=7\boldsymbol{\%}\)) that is directly correlated with the values of the \({{\varvec{E}}}_{\text{g}}\) of the NP component of the membranes, the high porosity, and large surface area of the membrane. This suggests the synergetic use of the two metal oxides in potential applications of the photocatalytic degradation of MB and other organic pollutants for water treatment.

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The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the deanship of scientific research at Jordan University of Science and Technology for financial, technical, and logistic support. Special acknowledgments are forwarded to Prof. Ahmad Al-Omari and Prof. Mohammad Al-Omari at the department of Physics, Jordan University of Science and Technology, for the access provided for their laboratories.

Funding

This research was funded by Jordan University of Science and Technology, Jordan (Grant No. 350-2020).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Al-Zaytoonah University of Jordan, P.O. Box 130, Amman, 11733, Jordan

    B. Aljawrneh

  2. Department of Physics, Jordan University of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 3030, Irbid, 22110, Jordan

    A. Alsaad, S. Alrousan & A. Alshanableh

  3. Nanotechnology Institute, Jordan University of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 3030, Irbid, 22110, Jordan

    B. Albiss

  4. Department of Nutrition and Food Technology, Jordan University of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 3030, Irbid, 22110, Jordan

    S. Mutlaq

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  1. B. Aljawrneh
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Contributions

Conceptualization: BA, AA, BA, SA, and AA; Methodology: BA, AA, BA, SA, and AA; Investigation: BA, AA, BA, SA, and AA; Data curation: BA, AA, BA, SA, AA, and S. Mutlaq; Formal analysis: BA, AA, BA, SA, and AA; Writing—original draft: BA, AA, SA, and AA; Writing—review & editing of the manuscript: BA, AA, BA, and AA; Funding acquisition: AA and BA; Project administration; AA and BA; Resources: AA and BA; Supervision, BA, AA, BA, and AA; Validation: BA, AA, BA, SA, and AA; Visualization: BA, AA, and BA. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to A. Alsaad.

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Aljawrneh, B., Alsaad, A., Albiss, B. et al. Cellulose acetate membranes treated with titanium dioxide and cerium dioxide nanoparticles and their nanocomposites for enhanced photocatalytic degradation activity of methylene blue. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 33, 11420–11433 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-022-08115-x

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