On-demand switchable superamphiphilic nanofiber membrane reinforced by PET braided tube for efficient wastewater purification and photocatalytic regeneration

• Published in: Applied catalysis. B, Environmental Vol. 341; p. 123300
• Main Authors: Piao, Hongwei, Zhao, Jian, Tang, Yifei, Zhang, Run, Zhang, Shujie, Huang, Qinglin, Zuo, Shiwei, Liu, Yong, Xiao, Changfa, Liu, Shaomin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.02.2024
• Subjects: Emulsion separation; Membrane regeneration; Nanofiber membrane; Photocatalytic membrane; Wastewater purification; Photocatalytic membrane; Nanofiber membrane; Wastewater purification; Membrane regeneration; Emulsion separation
• ISSN: 0926-3373; 1873-3883
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apcatb.2023.123300

Nanofiber membrane is regarded as one of the ideal candidates for complex wastewater purification. However, the membrane fragility, fouling and dull wettability limits its widespread application. In this work, a hybrid zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 @zinc oxide nanorod decorated poly (vinylidene fluoride) tubular nanofiber membrane (ZIF-8 @ZnO/PVDF-TNM) was developed based on a polyester braided tubular reinforcement substrate. The hybrid membrane was fabricated by ZnO seeds conversion, ZnO nanowire growth via hydrothermal technique and ZIF-8 deposition using self-template scarifying method. The resultant ZIF-8 @ZnO/PVDF-TNM possesses enhanced photocatalytic capacity for pollutants removal and superamphiphilicity or under-liquid superamphiphobicity depending on its nanoarchitecture. In virtue of well-grown ZIF-8 @ZnO nanorods, the membrane exhibits a commendable permeation ability (784 and 865 L·m−2·h−1 for water and oil, respectively) under gravity operation, superior oil/water separation efficiency (> 99.9%) for various emulsions. Moreover, it can achieve high-efficient pollutants degradation, self-cleaning and membrane regeneration by solar light irradiation. This study demonstrates a new approach to fabricate the switchable superamphiphilic nanofiber membrane for water remediation and membrane regeneration. [Display omitted] •ZIF-8 @ZnO/PVDF nanofiber composite membrane possesses switchable amphiphilicity.•Pollutants removal and robust emulsion separation performance are appreciable.•Possible mechanism of various emulsion separation & pollutants removal was proposed.•Membrane regeneration can be simply achieved by photocatalysis with solar light irradiation.