Polysulfone Ultrafiltration Membrane Promoted by Brownmillerite SrCu_<i>x</i>Co_1–<i>x</i>O_3−λ-Deposited MCM-41 for Industrial Wastewater Decontamination: Catalytic Oxidation and Antifouling Properties

Abstract

A polysulfone (PSf) ultrafiltration (UF) membrane without a chemical reaction process is unable to deeply clean industrial wastewater and prone to fouling. In this work, a 30 mol % Cu-substituted brownmillerite SrCuxCo1–xO3−λ (SCC37, λ ≥ 0.5)-deposited MCM-41 hybrid catalyst with 40 wt % SCC37 (SCCM-40%) was synthesized and then blended into the PSf membrane by the phase inversion method. The resultant PSf/SCCM UF membrane with catalytic oxidation and antifouling properties was tested via peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation. As characterized by transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analyses, the SCC37 catalysts (5–10 nm) with a brownmillerite structure were evenly scattered on the surface of MCM-41. Notably, the uniform distribution of SCCM-40% in the composite membrane was contributed to the favorable degradation capacity for membrane-permeable rhodamine B (RhB) because of the massive 1O2 and SO4•– generated by PMS activation. The RhB degradation effect of the membrane remained high in the pH range of 3–9 and in the presence of humic acid. Moreover, the PSf/SCCM UF membrane demonstrated favorable long-term self-cleaning and antifouling properties after a PMS-based cleaning process. The results highlight the potential of this catalytic UF membrane in the treatment of industrial wastewater.