Polyurethane nanofibrous membranes decorated with reduced graphene oxide–TiO 2 for photocatalytic templates in water purification

We hereby report a reduced graphene oxide–titanium dioxide (rGO–TiO 2 )-loaded polyurethane (PU) nanofibrous membrane having visible-light-responsive photocatalytic activity and antifouling property. The functionality is significantly augmented by the hybridization of rGO–TiO 2 with nanofibrous membrane. This results in a synergistic combination of high surface area of nanofiber and unique photocatalytic activity of rGO–TiO 2 . 10 wt% rGO–TiO 2 -loaded membrane showed an average fiber diameter of 271.83 ± 11.38 nm. Both the thermal stability and mechanical stability of the membrane increase after rGO–TiO 2 loading. The optimized PU/10rGO–TiO 2 membrane exhibited a water flux of 12810 ± 49.65 Lm −2 h −1 , oil rejection of 85.50%, and flux recovery ratio of 88.10%. Theoretical evaluation of fouling model suggests that all the membranes follow cake filtration model. The photocatalytic activity of nanofibrous membrane increases with an increase in rGO–TiO 2 concentration in the membrane, and PU/10rGO–TiO 2 nanofibrous membrane showed 95% of degradation against methylene blue dye. Thus, the prepared membrane can be suggested for an ideal candidate for antifouling and photocatalytic templates in water filtration systems.