Photocatalytic nanocomposite membranes for environmental remediation

Mahsa Golmohammadi; Ali Asghar Sabbagh Alvani; Hassan Sameie; Bastian Mei; Reza Salimi; Dirk Poelman; Federico Rosei

doi:10.1088/1361-6528/ac8682

Photocatalytic nanocomposite membranes for environmental remediation

Nanotechnology. 2022 Aug 30;33(46). doi: 10.1088/1361-6528/ac8682.

Authors

Mahsa Golmohammadi^{1

2}, Ali Asghar Sabbagh Alvani^{1

2

3}, Hassan Sameie^{2

4}, Bastian Mei⁴, Reza Salimi^{2

4}, Dirk Poelman⁵, Federico Rosei⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Polymer Engineering & Color Technology, Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran 1591634311, Iran.
² Color & Polymer Research Center (CPRC), Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran 1591634311, Iran.
³ Standard Research Institute (SRI), Karaj, 31745-139, Iran.
⁴ MESA + Institute for Nanotechnology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Twente, Enschede 217, The Netherlands.
⁵ Department of Solid State Sciences, Lumilab, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281-S1, 9000 Ghent, Belgium.
⁶ INRS Centre for Energy, Materials and Telecommunications, 1650 Boul. Lionel Boulet, Varennes, QC J3X 1P7, Canada.

PMID: 35921794
DOI: 10.1088/1361-6528/ac8682

Abstract

We report the design and one-pot synthesis of Ag-doped BiVO₄embedded in reduced graphene oxide (BiVO₄:Ag/rGO) nanocomposites via a hydrothermal processing route. The binary heterojunction photocatalysts exhibited high efficiency for visible light degradation of model dyes and were correspondingly used for the preparation of photocatalytic membranes using polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) or polyethylene glycol (PEG)-modified polyimide (PI), respectively. The surface and cross-section images combined with elemental mapping illustrated the effective distribution of the nanocomposites within the polymeric membranes. Photocatalytic degradation efficiencies of 61% and 70% were achieved after 5 h of visible light irradiation using BiVO₄:Ag/rGO@PVDF and BiVO₄:Ag/rGO@PI (PEG-modified) systems, respectively. The beneficial photocatalytic performance of the BiVO₄:Ag/rGO@PI (PEG-modified) membrane is explained by the higher hydrophilicity due to the PEG modification of the PI membrane. This work may provide a rational and effective strategy to fabricate highly efficient photocatalytic nanocomposite membranes with well-contacted interfaces for environmental purification.

Keywords: BiVO4; charge transfer; photocatalysis; polymeric membrane; rGO.