Abstract
Photocatalytic composite membranes (PCMs), which integrate the high degradation efficiency of photocatalysts and the physical separation properties of membranes, have emerged as a promising technology for wastewater treatment. Herein, the ternary GO@AgNPs@g-C3N4 PCM was fabricated through a facile vacuum-filtration assembly of graphene oxide (GO), graphitic phase carbon nitride (g-C3N4), and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) onto commercial mixed cellulose ester (MCE) substrates. The effects of g-C3N4 synthesized from different precursors and various metal nanoparticles on the performance of PCM were systematically investigated. Interestingly, results show the addition of AgNPs not only significantly improves the photocatalytic performance of PCMs but also enhances the mechanical adhesion between the active layer and the MCE substrate. The resultant PCMs exhibit outstanding photocatalytic performance, maintaining dye removal above 89% even after 25 consecutive cycles. Moreover, dye degradation pathways over the PCMs were investigated through free radical scavenging experiments and electron spin resonance characterizations. This simple assembly method results in a 3–12 times increase in flux compared to the layer-by-layer assembly method. Accordingly, our designed PCMs exhibit significant potential for wastewater treatment and water purification applications.
Published Version
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