Preparation and characterization of phosphorylated Zr-doped hybrid silica/PSF composite membrane

Polysulfone (PSF) membranes are broadly applied in many fields owing to good physicochemical stability, resistance to oxidation and chlorine. But when treated with wastewater containing oil, PSF membranes are easy to be contaminated for its hydrophobicity, which can result in the declining of flux and lifespan of the membrane and limit their application in large scale. To enhance the capability of PSF membrane in the above circumstances, phosphorylated Zr-doped hybrid silica particles (SZP particles) were firstly prepared. SZP particles have various point defects inside their structure and lots of hydroxide radicals on their surface. SZP particles were added to the porous matrix of PSF to prepare a novel composite membrane (SZP/PSF) through a phase inversion process. Finally, the optimum preparation conditions of SZP/PSF composite membranes were determined. The optimum conditions are: the mass ratio of PSF, PEG400 and SZP is 12:10:10; ultrasound 10 min inside each 30 min; the pre-evaporating time is 10 s. Optimized SZP/PSF composite membrane was characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and ultrafiltration experiment. The results indicate that SZP particles can be uniformly dispersed in SZP/PSF composite membranes with excellent hydrophilic property, antifouling capability and tensile strength. Therefore, it can be concluded that the optimized SZP/PSF composite membrane is desirable in the treatment of wastewater containing oil and wastewater.