Abstract
A wide variety of materials, strategies, and methods have been proposed to face the challenge of wastewater pollution. The most innovative and promising approaches include the hybrid materials made of polymeric nanofibers and photocatalytic nanoparticles. Electrospun nanofibers with unique properties, such as nanosized diameter, large specific surface area, and high aspect ratio, represent promising materials to support and stabilize photocatalytic nanosized semiconductors. Additionally, the role performed by polymer nanofibers can be extended even further since they can act as an active medium for the in situ synthesis of photocatalytic metal nanoparticles or contribute to pollutant adsorption, facilitating their approach to the photocatalytic sites and their subsequent photodegradation. In this paper, we review the state of the art of electrospun polymer/semiconductor hybrid nanofibers possessing photocatalytic activity and used for the remediation of polluted water by light-driven processes (i.e., based on photocatalytic activity). The crucial role of polymer nanofibers and their versatility in these types of procedures are emphasized.
Highlights
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutralNowadays, one of the most critical problems facing humanity is the increasing water contamination, mainly attributed to the negative impact of anthropogenic activities on varied aquatic environments
The authors ascribed these promising results to the large surface area, along with abundantly generated functional groups and excellent thermal conductivity of graphene oxide (GO) that improve the transport of carriers generated by TiO2 NPs, in photocatalysis
The authors attribute the good efficiency obtained to the low density of PAN and the porosity of the PAN/β-CD/TiO2 /GO nanofibrous membranes, which allow their flotation in the dye solution, increasing the contact surface and facilitating light penetration
Summary
One of the most critical problems facing humanity is the increasing water contamination, mainly attributed to the negative impact of anthropogenic activities on varied aquatic environments. Materials composed by NFs display unique functional properties, such as nanosized diameter, large specific surface area, high aspect ratio, high degree of porosity, and pore interconnectivity These materials can be obtained as macroscopic mat-like structures, characterized by flexibility and elasticity, which can be advantageously used as a platform for numerous emerging environmental applications, e.g., the filtration of liquids, separation of fine particles for water treatment and technology environmental remediation processes, as well as, as photocatalyst support [6]. The high surface-to-volume ratio and continuous matrix structure, characterized by small pores, confer to these materials several advantages in the separation process of contaminants, especially when the surface/interface interactions play an essential role [6] Another significant advantage is the enormous surface modification possibilities that polymer nanofibers offer [7,8]. Concluding remarks and future perspectives of this research area of technological interest are outlined
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