Facile fabrication of nanocellulose-supported membrane composited with modified carbon nitride and HKUST-1 for efficient photocatalytic degradation of formaldehyde

Abstract

As a cellulose-derived material, nanocellulose possesses unique properties that make it an ideal substrate for various functional composite materials. In this study, we developed a novel composite membrane material capable of adsorbing and photo-catalyzing formaldehyde by immobilizing HKUST-1 (copper open framework composed of 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylic acid) onto NFC (Nano-fibrillated cellulose) membranes and subsequently loading modified carbon nitride. The synthesized CNx@HN composite membrane (consisting of NFC membrane with anchored HKUST-1 and modified g-C₃Nx nanosheets) was thoroughly characterized, and its photocatalytic degradation performance towards low concentrations of formaldehyde (3.0 mg/m³) was investigated. The results demonstrated that HKUST-1's porous nature exhibited a concentrated adsorption capacity for formaldehyde, while the modified CNx (Modified g-C₃Nx nanosheets) displayed robust photocatalytic degradation of formaldehyde. The synergistic effect of HKUST-1 and modified CNx on the NFC membrane significantly enhanced the efficiency of formaldehyde degradation. Under xenon lamp irradiation, CNx@HN-5 achieved a total removal efficiency of 86.9 % for formaldehyde, with a photocatalytic degradation efficiency of 48.45 %, showcasing its exceptional ability in both adsorption and photocatalytic degradation of formaldehyde. Furthermore, after 10 cycles of recycling, the composite membrane exhibited excellent stability for the photocatalytic degradation process. Therefore, this study presents a green and facile strategy to fabricate nanocellulose-supported composite membranes with great potential for practical applications in formaldehyde degradation.

Keywords: Formaldehyde removal; Metal-organic framework; Modified carbon nitride; Nano-fibrillated cellulose; Photocatalytic degradation.