High‐performance composite photocatalytic membrane based on titanium dioxide nanowire/graphene oxide for water treatment

In this study, a novel dopamine‐modified TiO 2 nanowire (NW)‐intercalated graphene‐oxide‐based photocatalytic (NWC) membrane was prepared by vacuum‐assisted filtration using a commercial cellulose acetate membrane as a support layer. At the same time, compared with the synthesized reduced graphene‐oxide/polydopamine/TiO 2 nanoparticle composite (NPC) membrane, it was found that the NWC membrane has high water flux (273 L m −2 h −1 ) and removal rate (above 98%) on the dye‐oil emulsion. After 5 cycles of experiments, the NWC membrane maintained a relatively stable permeation flux and removal rate, which was significantly better than the NPC membrane. The results showed that the NWC membrane had a more uniform distribution of TiO 2 NW, and had better antifouling ability, recyclability, and photocatalytic performance than NPC membrane. In summary, the NWC photocatalytic membrane of this study shows excellent water purification potential and provides a new path for photocatalytic water treatment. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020 , 137 , 48488.