Preparation and characterization of CTA/m-ZnO composite membrane for transport of Rhodamine B

Abstract

Here, we report on the fabrication of modified-ZnO nanoparticles enhanced membrane and evaluation of its performance. Cellulose triacetate (CTA) membranes were manufactured by diffusion induced phase inversion in DCM and were blended with modified(m) ZnO nanoparticles. The CTA/m-ZnO and CTA/ZnO composite membranes were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, SEM, AFM techniques and contact angle measurements. After optimization of pH, the concentrations of carriers in the membrane, Rhodamine B and the stripping phase concentrations, transport efficiency reached to 98% at pH 12. The results showed that the fabricated membrane embedded with modified nanoparticles significantly improved membrane features.

Keywords:

• Nanoparticles
• ZnO
• CTA
• Composite membrane
• Rhodamine B

Acknowledgments

We thank the scientific research projects foundation of Selcuk University (SUBAP-Grant Number 2012-12101026) for financial support of this work produced from a part of I. Akin’s PhD Thesis.