Faculty Publications
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Item Synthesis and characterisation of TiO2 nanofibre/cellulose acetate nanocomposite ultrafiltration membrane(Taylor and Francis Ltd. michael.wagreich@univie.ac.at, 2017) Neelapala, S.D.; Nair, A.K.; JagadeeshBabu, J.Nanofibres of TiO2 were synthesised by hydrothermal routine. Cellulose acetate/TiO2 nanofibre composite membranes were synthesised via blending TiO2 nanofibre in cellulose acetate solutions in 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidone. In order to study the effect of addition of nanofibre, membranes with various composition were synthesised, first by keeping cellulose acetate to 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidone ratio constant and second by decreasing cellulose acetate concentration with increasing addition of TiO2 nanofibre. The membranes were characterised using scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction. Hydrophilicity of the membranes was evaluated in terms of contact angle measurements and water uptake study. Permeation characteristics were determined in terms of pure water flux and bovine serum albumin rejection. Antifouling property was studied in terms of flux recovery after rejection. Remarkable improvement in membrane flux and antifouling properties is achieved by the addition of TiO2 nanofibres. © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.Item TiO2 nanosheet-graphene oxide based photocatalytic hierarchical membrane for water purification(Elsevier B.V., 2017) Nair, A.K.; JagadeeshBabu, J.There is a rising concern over the toxicity of nanomaterials which emphasizes the need for reforms in application of nanomaterials in water treatment. A hierarchical membrane with a thin layer of photocatalyst coated on top of the membrane surface has emerged as a better alternate for immobilization of photocatalyst. Studies have revealed that nanoparticles are not pliable for synthesis of hierarchical membranes due to their smaller size and low stability after deposition. TiO2 nanosheets serve as better alternate due their thin structure which enables stable layer formation. Integrating the nanosheets with modifiers like graphene oxide can further enhance the photocatalytic activity. The sheet structure of graphene oxide enhances stable film formation and also acts as support for interconnecting TiO2 nanosheets. In the present work, TiO2 nanosheets are modified with graphene oxide and used to develop a hierarchical membrane by depositing a catalyst coating on a support membrane. The hierarchical membrane performance was studied using Congo red dye as model pollutant and the effect of catalyst loading on the permeate flux and dye removal were analyzed. © 2017 Elsevier B.V.Item Fabrication of visible-light assisted TiO2-WO3-PANI membrane for effective reduction of chromium (VI) in photocatalytic membrane reactor(Elsevier B.V., 2021) Rathna, T.; JagadeeshBabu, J.; RubenSudhakar, D.In this work, TiO 2-WO3(40:1) nanoparticles were hydrothermally prepared and, embedded in Polyaniline (PANI) membrane with varying concentrations (3–7 wt%) and, used in photocatalytic membrane reactor for the removal of Cr(VI) from the aqueous solutions. 4-methyl piperidine (4-MP) was used as a gel inhibiting agent in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) solvent to prepare PANI-based flat-sheet membranes by phase inversion method. Through different characterization technique, it has been found that TiO 2-WO3 incorporated PANI membranes showed enhanced membrane properties like better hydrophilicity, better antifouling properties, higher water uptake, lower contact angle, higher porosity, and better heavy metal removal efficiency compared to bare PANI membranes. PANI membrane with 5 wt% TiO 2-WO3 exhibited a percentage rejection of 98.50% within 60 min at 0.5 MPa transmembrane pressure. Cr(VI) reduction under light and dark conditions was performed in a dead-end filtration cell with a quartz window at the top and the 5 wt% TiO 2-WO3– PANI membrane showed 67.32% reduction under visible light. TiO 2-WO3 incorporated PANI nanofiltration membranes can act as an integrated system consists of a short-circuited photo-anode and cathode under visible light irradiation. Overall, TiO 2-PANI membranes promote Cr(VI) reduction to Cr(III) in the photocatalytic membrane reactor and exhibits a better self-cleaning property. © 2021Item TiO2-WO3 nanocube-polyaniline hierarchical membrane for efficient removal of chromium in a photocatalytic membrane reactor(John Wiley and Sons Inc, 2023) Rathna, T.; JagadeeshBabu, J.; Ruben Sudhakar, D.R.In this article, the rational design of a physically coated TiO2-WO3 nanocube-polyaniline photocatalytic membrane (hierarchical) reactor for the efficient reduction of chromium (VI) under visible light is discussed. The incorporation of TiO2-WO3 in the polyaniline (PANI) membrane provides excellent hydrophilicity and high photo-corrosion resistance and facilitates the rapid permeation of water with a flux rate of 12 L/m2 h and higher Cr (VI) reduction. The exposure of bare PANI membranes in Cr (VI) solution leads to over-oxidation of PANI membrane and eventually leads to the destruction of the membrane. The hierarchical photocatalytic coating improves the lifetime of the membrane by blocking it from deprotonation. The photocatalytic membrane could offer 79.30% Cr (VI) reduction under visible light irradiation in a photocatalytic membrane reactor. After several reduction cycles, the membrane showed good self-cleaning ability. The present work suggests that TiO2-WO3 nanocube-coated PANI hierarchical membrane is a promising approach for the reduction and removal of Cr (VI) from wastewater. © 2023 CIWEM.